On Fees for the Use of Natural Resources

On Fees for the Use of Natural Resources
Document number	946
Document issuer	Parliament of Georgia
Date of issuing	29/12/2004
Document type	Law of Georgia
Source and date of publishing	LHG, 41, 30/12/2004
Registration code	210.020.000.05.001.001.707
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LAW OF GEORGIA

ON FEES FOR THE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Article 1 - Purpose of the Law

The purpose of this Law is to ensure the rational use of state-owned natural resources by establishing auser-pays principle based on potential environmental capabilities and sustainable development.

Law of Georgia No 2393 of 20 December 2005 - LHG I, No 55, 27.12.2005, Article 380

Article 2 - Definition of terms used in the Law

The terms used herein have the following meanings:

a) use of natural resources – the extraction of mineral resources from the environment, wood resources from the forest reserves, plant non-wood resources (including fir-cones), surface water, and fauna resources ;

b) deleted;

c) person - a person in accordance with the Tax Code of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 4225 of 29 December 2006 - LHG I, No 5, 15.1.2007, Art.64

Article 3 - Payers of fees

The payers of fees for the use of natural resources are:

a) persons whose activity(ies) related to the use of natural resources is/are subject to licencing under the legislation of Georgia;

b) persons who use the wood resources of the State Forest Reserves;

c) persons who use wood resources that have been harvested through special forest felling;

d) persons who extract objects of fauna (removal from the natural environment).

Law of Georgia No 4225 of 29 December 2006 - LHG I, No 5, 15.1.2007, Art.64

Law of Georgia No 5238 of 11 July 2007 - LHG I, No 29, 27.7.2007, Art. 307

Law of Georgia No 5201 of 8 November 2011 – website, 14.11.2011

Article 4 - Object of fees

The object of fees for the use of natural resources is the volume (quantity) of natural resources existing throughout the territory of Georgia (including its territorial waters, airspace, continental shelf and exclusive economic zones), namely:

a) volume (quantity) of minerals;

b) volume (quantity) of wood resources of the Forest Reserves;

c) volume (quantity) of plant non-wood resources (including fir-cones);

d) volume (quantity) of water resources;

e) volume (quantity) of fauna resources.

Law of Georgia No 4225 of 29 December 2006 - LHG I, No 5, 15.1.2007, Art.64

Law of Georgia No 5201 of 8 November 2011 – website, 14.11.2011

Article 5 - Fee rates

1. The amount of fees for minerals shall be determined:

a) in accordance with the basic types and volume(quantity) of minerals, as per the table given below:

Types of minerals	Unit of measurement	Amount of fees in GEL
Fuel and energy resources:
a) fuel	1 ton	21
b) gas	1000 m ³	2
c) coal	1 ton	1
d) peat and sapropels	1 ton	0.7
Ferrous metals:	1 ton/1%-content
a) iron		0.008
b) manganese;		0.18
Non-ferrous metals:
a) copper	1 ton	255.31
b) lead	1 ton	37
c) zinc	1 ton	90
d) antimonite	1 ton/1%-content	0.09
e) cadmium	1 ton	800,000
f) aluminium	1 ton	104
g) nickel	1 ton	450
h) tin	1 ton	400
i) strontium and other	1 ton	0.8
Precious metals:	1 gram
a) gold		3
b) platinum group metals		1.3
c) silver		0.03
Rare metals, rare elements and rare earth elements:	1 gram	1.5
Mining and chemical raw materials:
a) andesite	1 m ³	0.6
b) barite	1 ton	1.8
c) calcite	1 ton	1.2
d) bentonite clays	1 ton	3.6
e) mercury	1 ton/1%-content	0.14
f) arsenic	1 ton	20
g) sulphur	1 ton	2
h) diatomite and others	1 ton	6
Non-metallic raw materials, including raw materials required for metallurgy:
a) dolomite	1 ton	0.5
b) fire clays	1 ton	1
c) fluxing limestone	1 ton	0.5
d) quartz sands for mould and glass production	1 ton	1.5
e) mineral pigments	1 ton	200
f) talcum	1 ton	1
g) zeolites	1 ton	1
h) kaoline	1 ton	4.0
i) trachyte	1 ton	0.3
j) pegmatite	1 ton	0.3
k) limestone for lime production	1 ton	0.15
l) graphite	1 ton	8
m) moulding and fluxing clays	1 ton	0.3
n) ceramic clays	1 ton	0.2
o) natural chalk	1 ton	0.1
p) moulding sands	1 m ³	0.3
q) lithographic stone	1 m ³	2
Precious stones :	1 carat	1
semiprecious gem stones (aquamarine, amethyst, chrysolite, rhinestone and others)	1 kilogram	0.25
jewellery gems (agate, malachite, jade, carnelian, amber, garnet, lazuli and others)	1 kilogram	0.15
jasper	1 gram	0. 05
Construction materials:
a) cement raw materials (limestone, alum earth, spongolite)	1 ton	0.14
b) gypsum	1 ton	0.7
c) lime plaster	1 ton	1. 0
d) perlite	1 ton	1.8
e) gravel, sand	1 m ³	0.2
f) brick clay	1 m ³	0.35
g) facing and sawing stones (granite, syenite, diorite, gabbro, teschenite, basalt, turf, marble)	1 m ³	1.0
h) macadam raw materials	1 m ³	0.4
i) other construction materials	1 m ³	0.7
Drinking/medicinal and bottling underground mineral waters, except for mineral waters specified in sub paragraphs (b-e) of this paragraph	1 m ³	3
Therapeutic mud	1 ton	1
Underground mineral waters for external use (medicinal baths)	1 m ³	0.04
Use of underground thermal waters with temperature:	1 m ³
40◦C−60◦C		0.03
60◦C-80◦C		0.05
80◦C-100◦C		0.06
over 100◦C		0.08
Underground fresh water springs:	1 m ³
a) use of fresh water springs for bottling		4
b) use of fresh water springs for other production		0.005
Waste from solid minerals extraction and processing	1 ton	0.2
Mining enterprises mill tailings	1 ton	0.18

Note: Extraction from underground fresh-water springs by persons (except for entities provided for by the Law of Georgia On Entrepreneurs) for personal and/or non-entrepreneurial activities shall not be subject to the payment of fees prescribed for the use of natural resources of underground fresh water springs;

b) for 'Borjomi' mineral water, GEL 30 per 1m ³ of water;

c) for 'Nabeghlavi' mineral water, GEL 18 per 1m³ of water;

d) for 'Sairme' mineral water, GEL 6 per 1m³ of water;

e) for the underground fresh-water spring 'Utsera', for the purposes of bottling (for drinking and medicinal purposes), GEL 4 per 1m ³ of water;

e1) for the underground fresh-water spring 'Utsera', for the purposes of its external use (medicinal baths), GEL 0.04 per 1m ³ of water;

f) for carbon-dioxide (CO ₂ gas), GEL 20 per 1 ton.

2. Fees for the use of the wood resources of the State Forest Reserves shall be determined in accordance with the groups and categories of forest wood species commonly found in the territory of the State Forest Reserves:

Groups and types of forest wood species	Amount of fees per cubic metre in GEL
Groups and types of forest wood species	Category I	Category II	Category III	Category IV
1	2	3	4	5
Group I: Yew, boxwood, juniper, Caucasian elm, walnut	102	71	41	6
Group II: Oak, chestnut, ash, elm, mulberry, maple, linden, common pear, wild pistachio tree	60	42	24	4
Group III Beech, hornbeam, acacia, Caucasian hackberry, hop hornbeam	47	33	19	3
Group IV: Pine, spruce, fir, cedar, cypress, Japanese cedar, tuja	22	15	9	2
Group V: Oriental hornbeam, plane-tree, other forest wood species	13	9	5	2

Note: The procedures for the attribution of forest wood species to different categories shall be determined by an ordinance of the Government of Georgia.

2¹. Fees for the use of the wood resources of the State Forest Reserves provided for by paragraph 2 of this article shall also be payable where appropriate activities are carried out in the territory specified by Decree №1070 of the Government of Georgia of 20 August 2010 'on the exclusion of areas (8106.9 ha) within the administrative boundaries of Tbilisi from the State Forest Reserves which were owned by it for the purposes of the development of the resort and recreation infrastructure of the capital and for the best state and public interests'.

3. The amount of fees for the use of wood and non-wood plant forest products shall be determined for each kilogram, in accordance with the following table:

No	Resources according to the groups of species	Amount of fees (GEL/kg)
1	Snowdrop bulbs, cyclamen tubers	0.1
2	Fir cones	0.60

4. The amount of fees for the use of water resources shall be determined:

a) based on the groups of water objects, in accordance with the table given below:

Groups of water objects (including the names of types of water objects )	Amount of fees per cubic metre in GEL
Group I (rivers of the Caspian Sea basin, lakes and other water reservoirs)	0. 01
Group II (rivers of the Black Sea basin, lakes and other water reservoirs)	0. 005
Group III ( Black Sea water)	0. 003

b) the amount of fees per 1 m³ of water for thermal power plants and irrigation systems shall be 1 per cent of the fees established for the respective water groups as set out in paragraph 4(a) of this article;

c) the amount of fees per 1 m³ of water for hydro power plants shall be 0.01 per cent of the fees established for the respective water groups as set out in paragraph 4(a) of this article ;

d) the amount of fees for the use of fresh-water spring (surface and underground) resources for utility and rural water supply shall be 0.01 tetri per 1 m³ of water.

5. The amount of fees for the use of fauna resources shall be determined in accordance with the species of fauna objects commonly found in Georgia as per the table given below:

Groups of fauna objects

(including the names of species)

The amount of fees (for mammals and birds per each object of species, for fish and sea animals per one ton) in GEL

Group I (bear)

1700

Group II (wild boar)

100

Group III:

a) roe

b) deer

500

1700

Group IV (wolf)

100

Group V:

a) jackal

b) fox

c) badger

d) marten

e) raccoon dog, raccoon, nutria

f) wild cat

Group VI (hare)

Group VII:

a) West Caucasian tur

b) chamois

c) snowcock

d) wild goat

1700

1350

220

8350

Group VIII (other mammals)

Group IX (pheasant)

Group X:

a) rock partridge, wild duck

b) mallard

c) francolin

d) partridge

c) grouse

Group XI (other birds)

Group XII (anchovy)

Group XIII:

a) sprat

b) whiting

c) mullus

d) herring, tuna, blotched picarel, garfish

e) bluefish

f) mackarel, sardines, horse mackarel

g) zander

h) picarel

Group XIV:

a) mullet, barbell, minnow, mahseer

b) danube black

c) catfish

120

Group V:

a) grass carp, bighead carp

b) common nase

Group XVI:

a) common carp

b) asp

c) common bream

d) common roach

e) pike

Group XVII (whitefish, peled, vendance)

Group XVIII (spiny dogfish)

Group XIX:

a) river trout, lake trout

b) salmonids

200

525

Group XX (sturgeons)

3000

Group XXI:

a) rapa whelk

b) mussel

Group XXII:

a) varicorhinus

b) herring

c) (crucian) carp

d) goby

e) barbell

f) vimba

g) flounder, turbot

Group XXIII:

a) stingrey

b) sand sole

c) thornback ray

d) stargazer

6. The amount of fees for withdrawing migratory birds from the environment shall be GEL10 per season.

Law of Georgia No 1504 of 2 June 2005 - LHG I, No 29, 21.6.2005, Art. 182

Organic Law of Georgia No 1757 of 23 June 2005- LHGI, No 36, 11.7.2005, Art. 234

Law of Georgia No 3497 of 24 July 2006 - LGH I, No 35, 3.8.2005, Art. 253

Law of Georgia No 4225 of 29 December 2006 - LHG I, No 5, 15.1.2007, Art.64

Law of Georgia No 5238 of 11 July 2007 - LHG I, No 29, 27.7.2007, Art. 307

Law of Georgia No 3774 of 28 October 2010– LHG I, No 63, 10.11.2010, Article 401

Law of Georgia No 4678 of 17 May 2011 - website, 1.6.2011

Law of Georgia No 5201 of 8 November 2011 – website, 14.11.2011

Law of Georgia No 802 of 10 July 2013 – web-site, 29.7.2013

Law of Georgia No 2149 of 21 March 2014 - website, 4.4.2014

Law of Georgia No 2958 of 24 December 2014 – website, 30.12.2014

Law of Georgia No 3674 of 29 May 2015 - website, 4.6.2015

Article 6 - Procedure for payment and transfer of fees to the budget

1. Fees for the use of natural resources shall be paid not later than the 15th day of the month following the reporting month except for the following natural resources:

a) for the use of wood resources of the State Forest Reserves, on the the 15th day of the month inclusive following the extraction of the resources out of nature (felling), but not later than the date of their transportation out from the forest, except for the cases provided for in sub paragraphs (b) and (g) of this paragraph;

b) for the personal consumption of wood resources by the local population, as well as for the use of wood resources by the budgetary agencies and the Patriarchate of Georgia, in advance, before the withdrawal of the resources from nature (felling);

c) for the use of wood resources extracted through special felling, before transferring them to a purchaser of wood resources as provided for by the legislation of Georgia;

d) for the use of plant non-wood resources and products thereof, in advance, before obtaining a licence;

e) for the use of water utilised in farming, before 1 December of the corresponding year;

f) for hunting migrating birds, in advance, before the hunting starts, under the procedure prescribed by the authorised body;

g) for the use of mineral resources, after obtaining a licence to extract minerals (or for the use of minerals), in the case of mineral resources (except for mineral waters, underground fresh water for bottling, and carbon dioxide),once every six months, but not later than the 15th day of the following month; in the case of mineral waters and underground fresh water for bottling ,not later than the 15th day of the month following each quarter; in the case of carbon dioxide (gas CO₂), every month, not later than the 15th day of the following month, based on an annual estimated volume under the appropriate plan for the exploitation of mineral resources , in equal parts, and where the volume exploited exceeds the annual estimated volume under the appropriate plan for mineral resources exploitation, according to the actual volume of exploited minerals.

Note: The procedures for the payment of fees for the use of natural resources under this sub-paragraph shall not apply to persons who are granted mineral extraction (or mineral use) licences for the purposes of their exploration and production only at the stage of the exploration of resources. If the above persons, while performing the exploration works, find it necessary to extract mineral resources for the purposes of their exploration, the fees for the use of natural resources shall be payable according to the volume of minerals actually extracted, not later than the 15th day of the following month.

h) (deleted – 5.7.2011, No5033);

i) (deleted – 5.7.2011, No5033);

j) for the use of Black Sea fish resources by a holder of a fishing licence ,not later than the 15th July of each year according to the total volume of fish resources to be extracted based on the percentage of the annual fishing quota prescribed by the fishing licence;

k) for the use of objects of fauna, on the 15th day of the month inclusive following the receipt of a document for the extraction of objects of fauna (except for migrating birds) intended for hunting , but not later than the extraction (removal from natural environment) of the objects of fauna.

1¹. Where a person is exempt from obtaining a licence to extract minerals under the procedure set out in the legislation of Georgia, fees for the licence-free extraction of minerals shall be payable in proportion to the volume defined by the resolution on the exemption from obtaining a licence to extract minerals, once every 3 months following the adoption of the resolution on the exemption from obtaining a licence , but not later than the 15th day of the month following the third month. Furthermore, if the resolution on the exemption from obtaining a licence to extract minerals does not define the volume of minerals, or if the volume of minerals extracted exceeds the volume defined by the resolution on the exemption from obtaining a licence to extract minerals, fees shall be paid in accordance with the volume of minerals actually extracted.

2. The payer of fees for the use of natural resources shall submit the calculation for the resources specified in paragraphs (1) and (1¹) of this article, except for those specified in sub-paragraphs (b),(d), and (f) of paragraph 1 of this article, to the tax authority within the time limits established for the payment of fees in accordance with the procedures defined by the Minister of Finance of Georgia. In addition, the payer of fees for the use of natural resources specified in paragraph 1 (g) and (j) of this article, shall have the right not to submit the calculation if the calculation has been submitted by the payer and the amount of fees for the object defined by the licence does not change throughout the following reporting periods.

Organic Law of Georgia No 1757 of 23 June 2005- LHGI, No 36, 11.7.2005, Art. 234

Law of Georgia No 3497 of 24 July 2006 - LGH I, No35, 3.8.2005, Art. 253

Law of Georgia No 4225 of 29 December 2006 - LHG I, No 5, 15.1.2007, Art.64

Law of Georgia No 5238 of 11 July 2007 - LHG I, No 29, 27.7.2007, Art. 307

Law of Georgia No 2323 of 15 December 2009 - LHG I, No 46, 22.12.2009, Article 354

Law of Georgia No 2324 of 15 December 2009 - LHG I, No 46, 22.12.2009, Article 355

Law of Georgia No 2808 of 23 March 2010 –LHG I, No 15, 31.3.2010, Art. 95

Law of Georgia No 3291 of 2 July 2010 – LHG I, No 32, 6.7.2010, Article 199

Law of Georgia No 4390 of 11 March 2011 – web-site, 17.3.2011

Law of Georgia No 5033 of 5 July 2011 – website, 15.7.2011

Law of Georgia No 5201 of 8 November 2011 – website, 14.11.2011

Law of Georgia No 481 of 25 March 2013 - website, 5.4.2013

Law of Georgia No 2318 of 30 April 2014 -website, 13.5.2014

Article 7 - Benefits

1. The volume (quantity) of minerals extracted in the course of the construction of metro, water supply and sewage systems, and underground structures for domestic and infrastructural purposes, shall be exempt from the payment of fees.

2. Fees shall be reduced by 70%:

a) for users who are engaged in scientific, cultural and educational activities related to the extraction of natural resources;

b) for users who are performing the restoration (reproduction) of natural resources by their own funding within the limits of restored (reproduced) volume (quantity) of resources.

3. Persons carrying out sanitary felling shall pay fees for the use of natural resources at the rate of 60% established for Category I of wood species under Article 5(2) of this Law.

4. In special circumstances, when firewood is provided as a result of social felling in accordance with the legislation of Georgia, on the basis of a decision of the Government of Georgia, the payment of fees for the use of natural resources regardless of wood category, shall be made in the amount established for Category IV of wood species under Article 5(2) of this Law.

Law of Georgia No 2918 of 8 April 2010 –LHG I, No 21, 22.4.2010, Art. 118

Law of Georgia No 4678 of 17 May 2011 - website, 1.6.2011

Article 8 - Special circumstances

1. (Deleted – 20.12.2011, No 5528).

2. Fees for the use of natural resources and fees for the use of wildlife species included in the 'Red List of Georgia' may be used for the calculation of damages in compensation for losses resulting from the illegal extraction of such resources.

Law of Georgia No 5201 of 8 November 2011 – website, 14.11.2011

Article 9 - Administration of the payment of fees

1. The payment of fees provided for by this Law shall be administered by tax authorities, except for the cases specified in the following sub-paragraphs of Article 6(1) of this Law:

a) fees specified in sub paragraph (b), the payment of which shall be administered, within their scopes of authority, by the legal entity under public law called the National Forestry Agency, the legal entity under public law called the Agency of Protected Areas and the legal entity under public law called the Ajara Forestry Agency;

b) fees specified in sub paragraph (d), the payment of which shall be administered by the administrative body issuing the respective licences;

c) fees specified in sub paragraph (f), the payment of which shall be administered by the Ecology Supervision Department, the state sub-agency of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia.

2. The tax authorities shall administer the payment of fees for the use of natural resources under the procedures laid down by the Tax Code of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 3604 of 17 September 2010 –LHG I, No 54, 12.10.2010, Art. 356

Law of Georgia No 4390 of 11 March 2011 – website, 17.3.2011

Law of Georgia No 5749 of 2 March 2012 – website, 15.3.2012

Law of Georgia No 481 of 25 March 2013 - website, 5.4.2013

Article 9¹ - (Deleted)

Law of Georgia No 5749 of 2 March 2012 – website, 15.3.2012

Law of Georgia No 481 of 25 March 2013 - website, 5.4.2013

Article 9² - (Deleted)

Law of Georgia No 5749 of 2 March 2012 – website, 15.3.2012

Law of Georgia No 481 of 25 March 2013 - website, 5.4.2013

Article 10 - Liability

For the violation of this Law, payers of fees shall be subject to the imposition of sanctions and other penalties as provided for by the legislation of Georgia.

Law of Georgia No 3604 of 17 September 2010 –LHG I, No 54, 12.10.2010, Art. 356

Article 10¹Transitional provision

Before 1 January 2016, the amount of fee for 1 ton/1% of manganese shall be set as GEL 0.12.

Law of Georgia No 2958 of 24 December 2014 – website, 30.12.2014

Article 11 - Entry into force of the Law

This law shall enter into force from 1 January 2005.

The President of Georgia M. Saakashvili

Tbilisi

29 December 2004

No 946-Is