Start with the document and authority
A Revenue Service audit notice, Ministry of Finance Investigation Service summons, prosecutor’s decision and court order create different obligations and remedies. Record who issued the document, the legal basis, recipient, service date, requested material and deadline before deciding how to respond.
Build four linked workstreams
- Tax: tax type, period, assessment, principal amount, objections and payment status
- Criminal: alleged offence, procedural status, investigator, prosecutor and evidence powers
- People: preparation, approval, filing, payment, advice and system access by person and date
- Business: continuity, payroll, banking, customer data, devices and protected information
The company’s tax position does not automatically establish an individual offence
Identify who controlled the disputed act and what that person knew. A director, accountant, employee and beneficial owner may have different information, authority and interests. Conflict and representation questions should be addressed before interviews.
Preserve the native accounting record
Secure read-only exports and backups of ledgers, tax returns, invoices, bank data, customs records, contracts and access logs. Record the software, version, extraction date and person producing the export. Do not overwrite correction history or create retrospective documents to fill a perceived gap.
Interview preparation
Confirm whether the person is being approached voluntarily, summoned as a witness, questioned as an accused or affected by another investigative act. Review the relevant period, duties and source records without rehearsing a group account. The person should distinguish personal knowledge from information learned later.
Searches and device seizure
During an office search, identify the court ruling or urgent decree, authorised scope, devices and accounts examined, inventory and any privileged, personal or unrelated material. Protect evidence and operations without obstructing. Afterward, compare seized sources with the accounting system and obtain the complete record.
Article 218 analysis
If tax evasion is alleged, separately test the calculation, threshold, intent, responsible person and the statutory note concerning payment, deferral, adjustment or suspension after the audit notice. A technical tax dispute should not be allowed to substitute for proof of deliberate evasion.
Asset measures
An account or property restraint can affect payroll and operations before the allegation is resolved. Obtain the full ruling, identify the statutory purpose and amount, document third-party and essential-business interests, and consider appeal or other relief without confusing restraint with guilt.
Coordinated defence work
Counsel can manage authority contact, preserve and index records, prepare interviews, coordinate tax and accounting expertise, challenge search or seizure, identify separate interests, test Article 218, respond to restraint and keep submissions in the tax dispute consistent with the criminal defence.
What to send for an initial review
- Every notice, summons, decree or ruling with proof of service
- Audit act, assessment and calculation by tax and period
- Organisation chart and actual approval or system-access map
- Relevant returns, ledgers, invoices, bank and customs data
- Objections, advice, payments, adjustments and deferral documents
- Upcoming interview, search, court or appeal deadline
Tax, criminal and institutional framework
The governing source depends on the investigative or tax step being taken. Use the current Georgian text and the actual document served in the case.
Criminal Code of Georgia — Article 218↗︎Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia↗︎Tax Code of Georgia↗︎Ministry of Finance Investigation Service↗︎