Chairman of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili notified the general public about an important event for the country.
He stated that he had signed a high-profile draft law on foreign agents. Immediately after this, the document came into force.
Today I signed the Foreign Influence Transparency Act, – Speaker of Parliament, TASS agency.
According to Papuashvili, the new law is aimed at strengthening the country’s political, economic and social systems “in relation to outside interference.”
He added: after the publication of the document on the pages of the relevant newsletter, the Ministry of Justice will have to prepare the relevant regulations within 60 days and open an electronic portal for organizations.
NGOs and media covered by the law will then be required to register with the registry and publish a financial declaration for 2023.
As for the portal, according to the head of parliament, those organizations that receive more than 20% of their income from abroad need to register there.
Covered NGOs and media outlets will be considered organizations that promote the interests of a “foreign power.”
They were required to submit a declaration of income and expenses to the Ministry of Justice in January of each year.
Failure to comply with the requirement will result in a fine of 25,000 lari (about $9,000).
If the declaration is submitted after the fine, then for each month of delay they will be fined 20,000 lari (about $7,200).
Earlier, the President of Georgia imposed a draft law on foreign agents.
