What this means in practice
Customs suspension under Georgia's border-measures legislation is not itself a criminal conviction. The right holder, declarant, importer and authorities may then follow distinct verification, release, destruction, civil or criminal routes.
Infringement, border action and crime are not interchangeable
An unauthorised use may support civil or customs action without satisfying a criminal offence. Criminal analysis requires the precise protected right, conduct, scale or damage threshold, knowledge and role of each participant to be proved under the applicable current provision.
For Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods, the early priority is to separate criminal allegations from civil infringement and customs procedures. The first evidence review should include trademark registrations and authentic comparison samples and should be completed before assumptions harden into the case narrative.
Issues to assess early
Separate criminal allegations from civil infringement and customs procedures
Identify the protected right, accused conduct, knowledge, quantity and alleged damage
Preserve authentic comparison material, samples and supply-chain records
Distinguish manufacturer, importer, distributor, retailer, platform and brand-owner roles
Evidence that may matter
Evidence must be examined in context. Existence of a document, transfer, message or device artefact does not answer every question about authorship, knowledge, purpose, legality, completeness or reliability.
- Trademark registrations and authentic comparison samples
- Seized goods, packaging, labels and chain-of-custody records
- Invoices, customs declarations and transport documents
- Supplier, distributor, marketplace and payment records
- Technical, digital, accounting and product-authentication expertise
Potential Criminal Code provisions
The provisions below are a focused research map for customs and border detention of counterfeit goods, not a statement that any person has committed an offence. Each element, part, threshold and aggravating circumstance must be checked against the current Georgian text and the actual evidence.
Breach of rules for moving goods across the customs border
The declaration, goods, route, value, knowledge and criminal threshold must be distinguished from an administrative customs breach.
Read full Article 214 text on this pageUnlawful use of a trade or service mark
Not every infringement is criminal: the protected right, accused use, repetition or substantial damage and each participant's knowledge must be assessed.
Read full Article 196 text on this pageIllegal transportation or sale of forged goods
Requires proof that the goods were forged, that the accused transported or sold them and that the person knew their character.
Read full Article 197¹ text on this pageAn investigation may start under one article and later be narrowed, expanded or reclassified. New evidence, expert conclusions, the legally assessed consequence, a defence application, prosecutorial review or a court ruling may support a different provision, part or aggravating circumstance. The Georgian consolidated text controls; an English translation may lag.
Read the relevant provisions before the external source
The operative English text below is reproduced from the official consolidated Criminal Code of Georgia, publication 296, accessed 9 August 2026. Formatting has been normalised for on-screen reading; the current Georgian-language consolidated text controls if wording or timing differs.
Article 214Breach of the procedure related to the movement of goods across the customs border of Georgia+
1. Moving large quantities of movable property across the customs border of Georgia by circumventing customs control or in secret involving deceptive use of documents or means of identification, entry of false data into the customs declaration, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
2. The same act committed by an organised group, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of five to seven years.
3. Movement across the customs border of Georgia of monuments of cultural heritage or other articles of cultural heritage registered in accordance with the legislation of Georgia, or of jewellery made of precious metals or of scrap jewellery in violation of the rules, –
shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for a term of four to seven years.
4. Movement across the customs border of Georgia of poisonous, toxic, radioactive or explosive substances, armament, explosive equipment, firearms, those materials or equipment that may be used for the production of weapons of mass destruction or strategically important raw materials in violation of the rules, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.
5. The act provided for by paragraphs 2, 3 or 4 of this article which has been committed:
a) repeatedly;
b) by an official or a person of equal status by abusing the official position;
c) using violence against the person exercising customs control;
d) by a group with preliminary agreement, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to eleven years.
6. The act provided for by paragraphs 1, 2, 3 or 4 of this article committed by an organised group, –
shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eleven to fifteen years.
Note:
1. Under this article, except for paragraph 2 of this Note, the large quantities shall mean an article the customs value of which exceeds GEL 15 000, and particularly large quantities shall mean an article with customs value exceeding GEL 25 000.
2. In the case of articles imported using hiding places or by avoiding customs control by illegally crossing the customs border of Georgia, large quantities shall mean an article with customs value exceeding GEL 5 000, and particularly large quantities shall mean an article with the customs value exceeding GEL 15 000.
Open Article 214 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎Article 196Unlawful use of trade (service) marks or other commercial designations+
1. Illegal manufacturing or use of another person’s trade (service) marks, designations of origin or geographical indications in large quantities, as well as production or introduction into civil circulation of goods illegally marked with another person’s trade (service) marks, designation of origin or geographical indications or with the registered brand name, which has resulted in considerable damage, –
shall be punished by a fine or corrective labour for up to two years or by imprisonment for the same term.
2. False indication of a warning mark along with a non-registered trade (service) mark, designation of origin or geographical indication, –
shall be punished by a fine or community service from 120 to 180 hours and/or by corrective labour for up to one year or by imprisonment for a term of two to three years.
3. The act provided for by paragraph 1 or 2 of this article which has been committed:
a) repeatedly;
b) by a person convicted for this kind of offence;
c) by a group of persons with the preliminary agreement, –
shall be punished by a fine or by imprisonment for a term of three to five years.
Note: The illegal manufacturing of another person’s trade (service) mark, designation of origin or geographical indication of goods is considered to be in large quantities if their total quantity is over 1 000, and an offence shall be deemed to have resulted in considerable damage if the cost of the goods manufactured or introduced into civil circulation and illegally marked with another person’s trade (service) marks, designation of origin, geographical indication or registered brand name exceeds GEL 5 000.
Open Article 196 in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎Article 197¹Illegal transportation or sale of forged goods+
Illegal transportation or sale knowingly of the forged goods, –
shall be punished by a fine or corrective labour for up to two years, house arrest for a term of six months to two years, or by imprisonment for up to two years.
Open Article 197¹ in the official consolidated Criminal Code↗︎How Georgian criminal law frames Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods
A useful legal analysis does not begin and end with the name of an offence. It identifies what must be proved, what remains disputed and which neighbouring legal route may better fit the established facts.
What must the evidence establish?
The case should be tested for the right protected in Georgia, accused use, commercial role, knowledge, quantity and any statutory repetition or damage threshold. A complaint, financial loss, injury, seized object or digital trace may justify investigation, but does not by itself prove every element.
Where is the legal boundary?
The material must distinguish criminal trademark conduct from civil infringement, customs detention, parallel import or a supply-chain mistake. Attempt, assistance, group activity, repetition and legally defined consequences may also alter the applicable article or part.
What evidence needs independent testing?
Priority material commonly includes registrations, genuine comparators, representative samples, customs files, invoices, marketplace data and authentication evidence. Reliability depends on lawful collection, completeness, provenance, authorship, chain of custody and a method capable of being challenged.
In a Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods matter, liberty may be restricted before the defence has seen the full file, making the arrest record, stated grounds, deadlines and proposed alternative measures immediately important.
The immediate decision is how to protect the record and prepare for rights and status verification without prejudicing the client’s procedural position. This is a fictional example for orientation, not a report of a client matter or an assumption of guilt.
How the process may develop
Not every matter reaches every stage, and several steps can overlap. Arrest, search, seizure, charging, restraint measures and court review each have their own legal basis. Current deadlines should be verified against the consolidated Criminal Procedure Code and the specific decision served in the case.
How defence counsel can assist
Criminal defence counsel can clarify status and rights, attend permitted investigative actions, review prosecution evidence, obtain lawful defence evidence, prepare motions and submissions, represent the client at restraint and trial hearings, negotiate only where instructed and appropriate, and coordinate appeals or international work.
An investigation or charge is not a conviction. Only a court may find a person guilty, and defence rights must remain practical and effective throughout the proceedings.
Frequently asked questions
Does Article 214 — Breach of rules for moving goods across the customs border — automatically apply to Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods?+
For Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods, Article 214, Article 196, Article 197¹ may provide a starting point, but a page title is not a legal qualification. Investigators and prosecutors must match proved facts to every element, part and aggravating circumstance. The qualification may be narrowed, expanded or changed after expert results, new evidence, a defence motion, prosecutorial review or a court decision. The declaration, goods, route, value, knowledge and criminal threshold must be distinguished from an administrative customs breach.
Which factual boundary is decisive in a Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods case?+
In a Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods case, the evidence must distinguish criminal trademark conduct from civil infringement, customs detention, parallel import or a supply-chain mistake. That boundary is tested through the person's individual conduct, knowledge or intent, the legally classified consequence and every circumstance relied upon to move the allegation into a different article or aggravated part.
What evidence can prove—or undermine—the allegation of Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods?+
The focused record for Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods is not the same as for every offence. Priority material includes registrations, genuine comparators, representative samples, customs files, invoices, marketplace data and authentication evidence. The defence should test provenance, completeness, authorship, lawful collection, chain of custody and whether each item proves the disputed element rather than merely repeating the accusation.
Can the article or charge for Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods change after the investigation starts?+
Yes. For Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods, Article 214, Article 196, Article 197¹ may be a starting map, but expert results, quantity or value, injury classification, individual role, attempt or participation, a defence application, prosecutorial review or a court decision may support a different article, part or legal outcome.
What should be preserved immediately in a Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods matter?+
In a Customs and Border Detention of Counterfeit Goods matter, preserve the original chronology, procedural records and the topic-specific material before routine loss or alteration. Early advice is important because goods may be moved or destroyed and online listings can disappear; preservation must be lawful and must not involve hiding, changing or coordinating evidence.
Primary sources for this guide
Legislation can change and official English translations may lag the Georgian text. Check the current consolidated version and obtain advice before relying on a deadline, offence classification or remedy.
Official consolidated Criminal Code — current text & PDF↗︎Law of Georgia on Trademarks↗︎Law on Border Measures Related to Intellectual Property↗︎