In August 2024, 8 traders in Georgia were fined up to 7 000 GEL for failing to meet their obligations set by the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency (GCCA). The issue revolves around the violation of the Law of Georgia on the Protection of Consumer Rights. As a result, according to the GCCA decision, traders were required to adjust their trading policies to align with the specific articles of the law.
The GCCA's ongoing monitoring revealed that the Agency's decisions were not followed through on. Consequently, Ltd "Onemall" was fined 2060,05 GEL, Ltd "Sunline" was fined 600 GEL, trader Tinatin Tabatadze – 600GEL, Ind. Entrepreneur Izabela Bedoidze – 600GEL, Ltd “Sami” – 600 GEL, natural person Salome Khaduri - 600 GEL, Ind. Entrepreneur Tatiana Kukhianidze – 600GEL, and trader Ekaterine Kvaratskhelia – 600GEL.
According to the GCCA, being fined does not exempt the trader from complying with the Agency's decision. The Agency initiates the penalty procedure only after verifying the violation if a company fails to fulfill its obligations towards the protection of consumers' rights.
In case of confirmation of violation, when a trader fails to execute or improperly executes a decision of the Agency within the period determined by the Agency, the trader shall be penalized. The amount of penalty shall not exceed 2 % of the annual turnover of the trader for the preceding financial year. Besides, it should not be less than 600 GEL. If, during a period of 12 months, a trader commits a violation repeatedly, he/she shall be subject to a penalty which is double the amount of the previously imposed penalty.
For information: According to the data from the first seven months of 2024, 502 applications have been submitted regarding the protection of consumer rights. 52 consumer rights violations were confirmed in 114 cases. As a result of failure to fulfill obligations imposed by GCCA, 27 traders were fined a total of 22,312 GEL in 35 cases.
