Law of Georgia on Entrepreneurs (№578–IS of 1994) Country/Territory Georgia Document type Legislation Date 1994 (2017) Source FAO, FAOLEX Original source 240.000.000.05.001.000.087 Subject Agricultural & rural development, Fisheries, Forestry, Wild species & ecosystems Keyword Agricultural commodities Cooperative/producer organization Registration Business/industry/corporations Financial agricultural measures Fish products Fishing authorization Fishery management and conservation Authorization/permit Processing/handling Timber Timber extraction/logging Forest management/forest conservation Wildlife products Hunting/capture Geographical area Asia, Black Sea, Eastern Europe, Europe, Europe and Central Asia, Western Asia Abstract This Law regulates the legal forms of the subjects of entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurial activity shall be a legitimate and repeated activity carried out independently and in an organised manner to gain profit. Artistic, scientific, medical, architectural, legal or notary, audit, consulting (including tax consultants’), agricultural or timber-industry activities of natural persons, as well as the utilisation by a natural person or a legal person, or another organisational unit of a micro power plant connected to the electrical distribution network under the procedure established by the appropriate legislation shall not be considered as entrepreneurial activity. Agricultural or timber industries may exist in the legal form provided for in Article 2 of this Law, if they are registered with the Registry of Entrepreneurs and Non-entrepreneurial (Non-commercial) Legal Persons. Registration shall be mandatory if at least 5 persons who are not members of the owner's family are permanently employed in the enterprise. The Law further provides that cooperatives shall include a) cooperatives obtaining raw materials for members by way of extracting raw materials; b) cooperatives jointly selling agricultural products or hunting and fishery produce; c) cooperatives producing agricultural products and manufacturing different articles, and selling them at joint expenses (agricultural and production cooperatives); d) cooperatives buying consumer goods by wholesale and selling them by retail; e) cooperatives buying and producing, as well as jointly using material and technical resources necessary for agricultural production or for hunting and fishing; f) agricultural-credit cooperatives; g) consumer (diversified) cooperatives whose legal, economic and social bases shall be governed by the Law of Georgia on Consumer Cooperatives; h) non-bank deposit institutes – credit unions; i) agricultural cooperatives whose legal, economic and social bases shall be governed by this Law unless otherwise determined by the Law of Georgia on Agricultural Cooperatives. The Law is divided into six chapters and 71 articles. Full text English/Georgian Website matsne.gov.ge References - Legislation Repealed by Law of Georgia on Entrepreneurs (No. 875-VRS-XMP of 2021) Legislation | Georgia | 2021 Keyword: Agricultural commodities, Cooperative/producer organization, Registration, Business/industry/corporations, Financial agricultural measures Source: FAO, FAOLEX