Regulations of the Agricultural Cooperatives in Georgia

Abstract

Agricultural cooperatives have a huge history in Georgia. Roots of cooperation in Georgia date back as early as the 19th century. Although, legal regulations of the agricultural cooperatives in Georgia appeared only in 2013 when the Georgian Law on Agricultural Cooperatives was created and entered into force on the 12 of July. Before the specific provisions for the agricultural cooperatives, the regulation on different types of cooperatives existed in the law on Entrepreneurs, however, provisions were general and at the same time scarce. Due to EU approximation, the Georgian Law on Entrepreneurs was changed and the new version entered into force on 1st January of 2022. Consequently, the part of the cooperatives was rewritten, hence Law on Agricultural Cooperatives needs further amendments. In this article, the impact of the change of the law on Entrepreneurs on the regulations of the agricultural cooperatives will be provided regarding some aspects. A comparison with the regulations in the different European countries will be provided where needed. Analyzing the impact of existing changes and further possible changes will illustrate the existing situation of the Georgian regulation on agricultural cooperatives and the necessity of some amendments.

Keywords

• agricultural cooperative
• georgia
• law
• tax exemptions