Importing a US auction car into Georgia: the 2026 rules, with sources

Georgia taxes an imported car mainly by engine size and age, not by price. Since April 2026, one model year can change the bill by thousands of lari. This page sets out what official and published sources say, with a link and date for each point. It isn't customs advice. Check the official rs.ge calculator for your exact car and confirm with your broker before you bid.

Excise: engine size × age (since 2 April 2026)

• 1.5 GEL per cm³ for cars 0–6 years old, and 4.5 GEL per cm³ for cars older than 6 years. (Interpressnews, Parliament approves changes, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• Age = declaration year minus year of manufacture. (doberi.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• The 6-year jump: for a 2.5-litre car, 2020 build → 3,750 GEL, 2019 build → 11,250 GEL in 2026. That's simple arithmetic from the rates above. Estimate — confirm locally.
• Right-hand drive: excise ×3. Left-hand-drive hybrids up to 6 years: −60%. LHD electric: no excise; RHD electric: 3,000 GEL. (Interpressnews; doberi.ge, same links · estimate — confirm locally)

Import duty

• 0.05 GEL per cm³, plus 5% of that amount for each year of age. For a typical 2.0–2.5 L car up to 10 years old, that's about 100–190 GEL. (doberi.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)

No import VAT on passenger cars

• Georgia's Tax Code exempts the import of passenger cars (HS 8703) from VAT, Article 173(z). If someone adds "18% VAT" to your clearance estimate, ask why. (Tax Code Art. 173, legali.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)

Re-export within 180 days

• Excise and import duty are refunded if the car leaves Georgia within 180 days. (doberi.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)

Euro 5 and older cars

• Euro 5 is required for first registration of passenger cars from 1 January 2024. Export, re-export and transit are not covered. (MEPA, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · confirm locally)
• In practice many pre-2013 cars can clear customs but can't be registered for the road. (bpn.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)

Fees, registration and inspection

• Clearance and registration fees: about 480 GEL in total. That's clearance 150, declaration 50, inspection act 30, transit plate 50, registration certificate 100, plates 80 and viewing act 20. (doberi.ge · Public Service Agency, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• Register within 60 days of import. (Public Service Agency, same link · confirm locally)
• Technical inspection: 60 GEL for a passenger car. A lit ABS or SRS warning fails it. (PTI FAQ, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally) A published guide says imported cars need it within 30 days of customs clearance. (mogo.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)

Salvage titles

• We found no separate official rule on US salvage titles in the registration requirements we read. What gets checked is the VIN and documents (viewing act, plus an expert examination where needed), then technical inspection and Euro 5. (Public Service Agency, auto check, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · confirm locally) "Not found" doesn't mean "allowed", so ask your broker about the specific car.

Worked examples (customs + fees only, no freight)

Customs and fees only. Estimate — confirm locally on rs.ge.

Car	Total	In USD
2.0 L petrol, 2022, LHD	≈ 3,600 GEL	≈ $1,386
2.5 L petrol, 2017, LHD	≈ 11,911 GEL	≈ $4,585

Sources: doberi.ge (https://doberi.ge/en/auto/customs), re-checked against the rates above. USD at the NBG rate of 2.5979 GEL/USD, published 19 Oct 2026 (https://nbg.gov.ge/en/monetary-policy/currency). Estimate — confirm locally on the official rs.ge calculator.

Shipping from the US: ranges, not prices

• Shared 40ft container, per car: $800–$900 at 4 cars per box from Savannah or New Jersey, up to $2,000 from Los Angeles at 3 per box (Y7 tariff, effective 1 Oct 2026). Seaway shows $1,600–$2,400 (Seaway Export).
• RoRo to Poti: about $1,200–$1,600 (BidGoDrive · All Transport Depot).
• Poti terminal handling: about $200–$250 (Y7). Transit: about 25–50 days (Seaway).

All accessed 19 Oct 2026, all estimates. Confirm locally and get several quotes.

Work out your own max bid

The free FlipRadar max bid calculator is live. Enter the resale price, repair, buyer fee, transport, title and the profit you want. It shows the highest hammer price that still leaves that margin. It doesn't calculate Georgian excise for you, so take the excise and duty from rs.ge and add them with your freight. No account needed.

Open the max bid calculator

The FlipRadar Chrome extension scores the lot you have open, on your device. A new version with Market Profiles is in private beta and not yet in the Chrome Web Store. It adds lari amounts, landed cost at your port, a walk-away line, and warnings at the 6-year excise jump and for Euro 5. The private beta is free. To try it, email hello@theflipradar.com and ask for the private-beta extension. To hear when it's released, use Get updates below. Product updates only.

See the UAE page and the pricing page. FlipRadar home.

The website lot board is sample / stale. It is not a live auction feed.

FlipRadar is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any auction company or the Georgian Revenue Service.

Sources (accessed 19 October 2026)

• Interpressnews (excise law)
• Tax Code Art. 173
• rs.ge official calculator
• doberi.ge customs guide
• MEPA Euro 5
• Public Service Agency registration · auto check
• PTI FAQ · mogo.ge
• bpn.ge
• NBG rate
• Freight: Y7 · Seaway Export · BidGoDrive · All Transport Depot

Other launch markets

UAE · Lebanon

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