In Georgia, for customs purposes an ATV is closer to a passenger car than to a motorcycle. That is the defining feature of this route: the rules for heading 8703 apply to it, and those rules changed substantially in spring 2026. Below we set out what is known for certain, what remains a question of practice, and how we settle those questions before purchase rather than after the container arrives.
Why an ATV is 8703
Recreational four-wheel ATVs are classified under heading 8703: with a petrol engine up to 1,000 cc — subheading 8703 21, above that — 8703 22. US Customs classifies them this way consistently (rulings L87656, N245917 and others), and the national tariff of neighbouring Azerbaijan explicitly lists quadricycles in lines 8703 21/22. We have not checked the Georgian ten-digit national code for ATVs line by line, so the final code is confirmed at clearance.
For the buyer this means an ATV in Georgia inherits three rules written for 8703: the VAT exemption, a special duty and the car excise. The first works squarely in the buyer's favour: Article 173 of the Tax Code exempts the import of the whole of heading 8703 from VAT, so the standard 18% rate does not apply to an ATV.
What changed in April 2026
Law No 1477, published on 1 April 2026 and in force from 2 April, replaced the old multi-band car scale with two rates (Article 188, parts 12–13 of the Tax Code):
- GEL 1.5 per 1 cc — for vehicles aged 0 to 6 years;
- GEL 4.5 per 1 cc — for vehicles older than 6 years.
Parliament's budget committee provided for a transitional rule for vehicles whose transport began before 1 April 2026. The provision is written for "a car under heading 8703" and contains no carve-out for ATVs, so by the letter of the law they pay the excise too. We found no published source on how the Revenue Service applies it to ATVs in practice. We therefore confirm it with a customs broker for the specific machine before the deal.
The takeaway for choosing a machine: six years is the line after which the excise triples. A used ATV under six years old and a new one pay the same per cubic centimetre.
A duty of GEL 0.05 per cc and a refund on export
Besides the excise, heading 8703 has its own import duty (Article 197, part 6): GEL 0.05 per 1 cc of engine displacement plus 5% of that amount for each year of operation. Next to the excise this is small money — about GEL 48.8 for a new ATV with a 976 cc engine.
If the ATV comes into Georgia not for your own use but to be exported onward, two provisions apply: on export within 180 calendar days of release for free circulation, the importer may reclaim 100% of the excise (Article 189, part 8) and 100% of the import duty (Article 198, part 3 — for 8703 only).
The numbers on Can-Am models
| Charge | 2026 rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| HS code | 8703 21 (up to 1,000 cc) / 8703 22 (above); national code confirmed at clearance | CBP ruling N245917 |
| Customs duty | GEL 0.05 per 1 cc + 5% of that amount per year of operation | Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 197(6) |
| Import VAT | exempt (the standard 18% rate does not apply) | Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 173 (as of 30.09.2026) |
| Excise | GEL 1.5/cc (0–6 years), GEL 4.5/cc (over 6 years); application to ATVs confirmed per unit | Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 188(12)–(13) |
| Excise reform effective date | 02.04.2026 | Kreston Georgia |
| Recycling / eco fee | not provided for in the Code articles reviewed; confirmed in the estimate | Tax Code of Georgia |
| MIA Service Agency fees | declaration GEL 50, certificate GEL 100, quadricycle plate GEL 25 | Law on Service Agency fees, Art. 6 |
| Refund on export within 180 days | 100% of excise and 100% of duty | Tax Code of Georgia, Arts. 189(8), 198(3) |
The arithmetic at the Code's rates for new machines from our stock:
- Renegade 1000R and Outlander MAX 6x6 XT 1000, 976 cc: excise GEL 1,464, duty GEL 48.8.
- Outlander with the 999 cc V-twin (DPS 850 and 1000R, XT, XT-P, X mr, the MAX 1000R range): GEL 1,498.5 and GEL 49.95.
- Renegade 650, 649 cc: GEL 973.5 and GEL 32.45.
The same Renegade 1000R older than six years would pay GEL 4,392 in excise — three times as much. The Revenue Service customs-clearance fee is set by Government Resolution No 96 of 30.03.2010; we state its current amount in the estimate.
Registration and licence: where the law lags behind the machines
Quadricycles are registered by the MIA Service Agency. According to the Ministry, registration of mopeds and light quadricycles has been mandatory since 28 March 2022.
The difficulty lies in the definitions. The Law on Road Traffic defines a quadricycle as a four-wheel vehicle with an engine of no more than 15 kW and an unladen mass of 350 to 400 kg (up to 550 kg for goods vehicles). A category B1 licence covers exactly such quadricycles; AM covers light ones. The adult Outlander and Renegade models in our stock produce 40 to 101 hp — roughly 30 kW and up. The law does not say directly which class they are registered in or which category the rider needs. We do not pretend the answer is known: before ordering we request the Service Agency's position on the specific model and pass it on to you with the estimate.
Which model to choose
The choice starts with the job, not the horsepower — all the more so since Georgian tax is tied to engine displacement:
- Work and farm use — Outlander PRO HD5 and HD7 with a low working gear and Visco-4Lok locking; Outlander XT with a 3,500 lb winch.
- Hauling — Outlander MAX 6x6 XT 1000 with selectable 4WD/6WD and a winch; the DPS 650 version adds a two-level dump box.
- Riding two-up — the Outlander MAX range with two-seat layout.
- Mud and water crossings — Outlander X mr and Renegade X mr with snorkels.
A 649 cc engine instead of 976–999 cc means about GEL 500 less in excise alone. Platform comparisons are in our pieces how to choose an ATV from Canada and Can-Am vs Polaris.
Delivery to Tbilisi
We found no published direct sailing schedule from Montreal or Halifax to Poti, so the route and timing are confirmed for each shipment. From Poti to Tbilisi, Georgian Railway has launched a scheduled container block train: four departures a week, about 12 hours in transit (as reported by RailMarket). The general rules for importing vehicles into Georgia are in our article on car customs clearance from Canada to Georgia.
Why Canada
We work only with the Canadian market: new ATVs and clean used ones, no auctions and no damaged machines. For Georgia this matters twice over: age sets the excise rate, so the year of manufacture and the machine's history have to be backed by documents, not the seller's word. We do not publish prices — we calculate the estimate for any model from our ATV catalogue before purchase.
Rates are current as of October 2026 under the Tax Code of Georgia (consolidated 30.09.2026), the Law on Service Agency fees and the Law on Road Traffic (consolidated 25.06.2026). Whether the heading 8703 excise applies to ATVs, and their registration class, are confirmed for the specific machine before the deal.