Georgian wages in 2025 and 2026
Geostat’s wage series reports average monthly nominal earnings of GEL 2,165.2 for 2025 and GEL 2,389.3 for the second quarter of 2026. The latter is a quarterly national observation, rather than a salary quote for a new factory or service centre. [1] An old dollar wage figure also changes meaning with exchange rates and the date of the underlying lari data.
Occupation and location determine what an employer actually pays. A multilingual service agent, production technician and senior developer compete in different recruitment markets. Gross pay is also separate from an employer’s total expenditure on recruitment, applicable contributions, training, insurance, work equipment and shift arrangements. These differences matter more to an operating budget than presenting one national average as a universal saving.
The software guide includes the current information-and-communication benchmark; the engineering guide gives an industrial comparison. Neither is an occupation-level salary survey. A project’s own staffing plan supplies the roles to which more specific local recruitment evidence can be attached.
Industrial buildings and development land in Kutaisi
Hualing’s Kutaisi free industrial zone advertises existing production and warehouse buildings, industrial land and office facilities. Its facilities page identifies utility access and configurations that vary by property. [2] This is a named source of industrial premises, rather than a claim that identical buildings are available throughout Georgia at one price.
A quoted rent per square metre covers only part of occupation cost. The building may need fit-out, electrical work, temperature control or alterations for the production line. Utility connection and consumption are separate items, while loading space and yard occupation can affect the usable area. A warehouse listing cannot establish whether the same building is suitable for food production, composites or heavy fabrication.
Tbilisi’s office and distribution businesses, Kutaisi’s industrial premises and Poti’s port-related activity also serve different logistics needs. The warehouse guide gives dated location and rent research, while the logistics article describes actual terminals and operators. A rent comparison is most informative when the properties perform the same function.
Free industrial zones and Georgian goods transactions
The Georgian Tax Code treats a free industrial zone enterprise as a specific category. Article 25 contains a 4% rule for covered goods transactions between a FIZ enterprise and a Georgian-registered person outside the zone, with qualifications and exceptions. [3] This is one reason the phrase “tax-free company” does not explain every transaction that a zone business might make.
A factory selling mainly abroad has a different transaction pattern from a distributor supplying Georgian shops. Both may import goods, but their customer locations and business functions differ. The zone operator’s commercial licence, property agreement and the statutory tax treatment also perform separate jobs. Entering a zone does not remove the need to understand how the actual purchases, sales and employment are treated.
FDI grants and loan support
Invest in Georgia advertises an FDI grant of up to 15% of capital investment and training-related costs. Its incentives page separately identifies loan-interest support and International Company status. [4] These are different mechanisms, with different conditions. A grant percentage does not reduce every cost of an investment or establish that an application has been accepted.
Enterprise Georgia’s published Lineate and Girteka agreements show how past beneficiaries made investment and employment commitments. [7] [8] They are historical examples of programme use. The current programme documents, eligible expenditure and agreed obligations determine the support available to a particular project.
Timing affects finance as well as eligibility. Expenditure, documentary evidence, verification and payment can occur at different points. A reimbursement-based contribution is consequently different from capital already available to pay the equipment supplier. The actual programme and agreement supply that sequence; a headline percentage does not.
International Company status belongs to qualifying activities
Article 23 of the Tax Code establishes International Company status and provides 5% rates for covered employment income and the company’s profit-tax regime. The government grants the status, and permitted activities are determined under the statutory framework. The same article says an International Company cannot be established in a free industrial zone. [3]
For a software employer, the distinction affects both the company and covered employment income. For a customer-support or mixed-services business, the activity list requires particular attention because the commercial label “IT and BPO” covers several functions. The granted status and the permitted activity must match the work actually performed.
Preferential export origin follows the goods
The European Commission’s EU–Georgia guidance explains that preferential treatment depends on the relevant origin rules and evidence. [5] For a manufacturer using imported inputs, the production performed in Georgia and the product-specific rule are therefore relevant. Storage, a Georgian invoice or movement through a zone does not, by itself, establish preferential origin.
That is a commercial issue as well as a customs one. A buyer’s landed cost may change with the tariff treatment of the finished product, while the manufacturer still has to meet the customer’s technical requirements. The advanced manufacturing guide shows how component production and assembly fit within international supply chains.
The 2026 employment framework also applies to investment planning
Georgia’s Labour Migration Law now contains a right-to-work framework for covered foreign employees and self-employed foreigners without permanent residence, alongside express exclusions. The work-authorisation regime took effect from 1 March 2026. [6] Company registration and a foreign individual’s permission to perform covered work are separate questions.
Older statements that work permits are never required should therefore not be carried into a current investment plan. The registration, tax and import reference explains the main distinctions and links the legal sources. Contact our team for Georgian commercial research, local company introductions and information about the proposed business location.