Special tax zones
Georgia's special tax zones: Virtual Zone, International Company status and Free Industrial Zones, matched to what your business really does
Georgia has three regimes that take a company below the standard 15% on distributed profit. Virtual Zone status removes profit tax on IT services exported from Georgia. International Company status replaces the standard rates with 5% on distributed profit, 5% on salaries and 0% on dividends, for established IT and maritime operations. A Free Industrial Zone exempts permitted activity carried on inside the zone, for businesses that move physical goods. Each is applied for, tested on real activity and can be reviewed. Trustlex tells you first which one your activity can carry, then files it.
One of these regimes fits you if
- You develop software or IT products in a Georgian company and sell them to clients outside Georgia: Virtual Zone status.
- You run an established IT or maritime business with a track record, and are bringing a real team and payroll to Georgia: International Company status.
- You manufacture, process, store or re-export physical goods for markets outside Georgia: a Free Industrial Zone.
- You can show the activity on paper: the contracts, the people, the premises and the money flows.
Take another route if
- You run a consultancy, an agency or a trading company with no development and no goods in a zone. The standard LLC, taxed at 15% only when profit is distributed, is the honest answer. Standard LLC
- You work alone and bill in your own name: these regimes are for companies. The 1% regime may fit. See the 1% route
- Your customers are mainly in Georgia: all three regimes are built for business done with the outside world, and income from Georgia is taxed under the ordinary rules.
- You want a status without the activity behind it: each of the three is granted on evidence and reviewed later against the same evidence.
Itemised
What each route costs
The company itself has a fixed price. What differs is the status on top of it.
| LLC formationService fee; the state fee, set by the registration track, is a separate line; the same Georgian LLC carries a Virtual Zone or an International Company status | From €400 |
| Eligibility assessment, all three regimesThe activity, the customers, the team, the track record, and where the work or the goods physically are | In the call |
| Virtual Zone status, two stagesFixed: the written eligibility assessment first, then the evidence file, application and correspondence to decision, payable only after a positive assessment; 18% VAT applies | €600 |
| International Company statusQuoted in writing after review of the track record, the permitted activity and the Georgian presence | Requires assessment |
| Free Industrial Zone companyQuoted in writing once the zone and the activity are chosen; entry, licence and rent are paid to the zone's operator | Requires assessment |
| Monthly bookkeepingA company under any of the three still files in Georgia | From €110 / month |
Prices from the Trustlex price list of 2026-10-14.1. Zone operators set and change their own fees; they are not Trustlex fees and are confirmed with the operator before you commit.
How it works
- 1
One eligibility call
Thirty minutes and a short questionnaire: what the business does, where the work or the goods are, who the customers are, and how long the business has run. You get a written answer on which regime the activity can carry, and which it cannot.
- 2
The company
A Georgian LLC is formed at the fixed price, or the one you have is reviewed. For a Free Industrial Zone the company is set up as a zone enterprise with the zone's operator.
- 3
The evidence file
The contracts, the people, the premises and the money flows that the authority tests. It is built to survive a later review, not only to obtain the status.
- 4
Application
Filed with the responsible authority, or agreed with the zone's operator, with the correspondence handled by Trustlex until the decision.
- 5
Keeping the status
Filings continue every month and the substance is kept documented, because each regime can be reviewed against what was shown when it was granted.
What you need for the call
- A description of what the business does and how the work is organised
- Where your customers are, by country
- Who does the work and where: employees, contractors, premises
- How long the business has operated, and in which company
- For goods: what moves, from where to where, and in what volume
None of the three attaches automatically at registration. Each is applied for and granted on real activity.
Questions about Georgia's tax zones
Which regime gives the lowest tax?
It depends on the activity, not on the headline. Virtual Zone status is 0% on profit from exported IT services, with 5% on dividends. International Company status is 5% on distributed profit, 5% on salaries and 0% on dividends. A Free Industrial Zone is 0% on permitted activity inside the zone. The regime you can use is the one your real activity qualifies for.
Is any of them automatic when I register a company?
No. Each is applied for after the company exists, granted on evidence of real activity, and can be reviewed later against the same evidence.
Can I start with one regime and move to another later?
A change is a new application on the facts at that time. A small software exporter usually starts with Virtual Zone status; once it has a track record and a team on Georgian payroll, International Company status can be tested.
What does substance mean in practice?
That the activity is real and documented: who does the work, where, under which contracts and for which customers. An address and a director alone are not substance.
What about sales inside Georgia?
Under Virtual Zone status, income from Georgia is taxed under the ordinary rules. A zone enterprise's trade with Georgian persons outside the zone is taxed at 4%, and goods moved from a zone into the rest of Georgia are treated as an import.
How long does it take?
It depends on the authority, the operator and the file. Trustlex does not promise a date and does not promise the outcome; it promises a file that answers the questions that are asked.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Fees reflect the Trustlex price list of 2026-10-14.1; rates, thresholds and registry practice reflect September 2026 and change. The route for your case is confirmed by a lawyer at review.
The three regimes in detail
Find out which regime your business can carry
Book the eligibility call. You will hear which of the three fits, which do not, and what the file would need, before you pay for anything.