The Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (GCCA) published two years of statistics on consumer protection. Since November 2022, GCCA has been enforcing the Georgian consumer rights law, safeguarding legal consumer rights in business-to-consumer transactions across the country. Data shows that over 80% of cases are resolved in favor of consumers. Of complainants, 70% are women and 30% are men. Notably, 65% of complaints concern online purchases, while 35% involve in-store purchases.
between November 2022 and November 2024, the GCCA recorded 1,295 consumer protection complaints. Key outcomes include:
- 126 confirmed violations across 222 cases affecting consumer groups.
- In 304 cases, agreements were made on behalf of consumers where 219 traders committed to amending internal policies and restoring affected consumer rights. These adjustments were intended to address harm potentially caused by prior sales practices.
- 55 traders fined a total of 66,184 GEL for failing to meet obligations under GCCA
- Over 500,000 GEL compensated to consumers.
- 7 cases closed with no violations confirmed.
In the reporting period, wholesale and retail trade comprised 70% of the total cases, followed by transportation and warehousing at 14%, arts, entertainment, and recreation at 4%, and other activities accounting for the remaining 12%.
Based on the applications received by the agency, there were 442 requests for refunds, 417 for repairs or returns of defective items, 119 for restoring rights in cases of poor service, 70 for prohibiting misleading practices, 63 for timely delivery of goods, 59 for unconditional returns, and 125 for other issues. Tbilisi accounted for 82% of the applications, followed by Adjara and Imereti at 5% each, with other regions making up the remainder.
In September 2024, the GCCA was named a winner by the World Bank for its effective handling of consumer rights protection and complaints, resolving issues in line with consumer interests. According to the European Commission's enlargement report, Georgia shows progress in consumer protection, fulfilling part of the 2023 recommendations. Specifically, the country has established an institutional framework and legislative base for consumer rights protection that aligns with EU legislation.
According to experts from the EU-funded TWINNING project, which ran for two years at the agency, the compatibility of Georgia's consumer protection legislation with the EU directives specified in the Association Agreement has increased from 70% to 85%.
For your information: To report a violation of consumer rights, please complete a special application form at the GCCA Application Form and send it to consumer@gcca.gov.ge.For detailed inquiries, you can call the GCCA hotline at 15 20.
