Can the company prove the innovation and qualifying finance?
Funded or grant-backed Georgian startups that can prove the innovation, qualifying finance and a real connection between the funding and the company’s activity.
- innovative product, process or service
- GEL 100,000 investment or GEL 150,000 GITA grant
- GEL 200 application and 15-working-day review
- annual confirmation and later investment thresholds
- staged salary and profit-tax treatment
What the company or status is designed to do
Innovative Startup Status is a time-limited Georgian status for a company developing an innovative product, process or service and meeting a qualifying funding route. Entry normally requires at least GEL 100,000 accepted investment or a GEL 150,000 GITA grant within the preceding two years; the status is granted for one year at a time and may continue for up to ten years if the later conditions are met.
The statutory entry test combines a concrete innovation with an accepted funding source and timing. We review both before the company commits to the GITA application, audit work or a ten-year tax forecast.
A Georgian company needs both a genuine innovation and qualifying finance
Under Georgia’s Law on Innovations and Government Resolution No. 424, the applicant must be a Georgian entrepreneurial company creating an innovative product, process or service. Within the two years before application it must normally have received at least GEL 100,000 from an accepted investment fund, angel-investor network or member, or accelerator, or at least GEL 150,000 under a GITA grant.
- Describe the problem, users, novelty, competitors, advantage, target market and development work in concrete terms.
- Trace the qualifying investor or grant, agreement, payment date and bank receipt.
- Foreign parent or subsidiary funding can be relevant only where the qualifying original funding source and transfer chain can be proved.
- Income and expenses should substantially relate to the financed innovative activity.
- The company must satisfy the tax-debt, debtor-register, insolvency and liquidation conditions.
The application combines corporate, innovation and funding evidence
The application is submitted to the Georgia Innovation and Technology Agency. The current government fee is GEL 200 and the procedure provides a 15-working-day review period. If the initial file is incomplete, the procedure may allow ten working days to cure specified gaps.
- Company-registry extract issued no more than one month earlier.
- Detailed description of the innovative product, process or service.
- Investment, accelerator or grant agreement and evidence of receipt.
- Ownership, intellectual-property, team and development records supporting the narrative.
- Compliance evidence required by the procedure.
The tax result changes as the startup matures
The status uses staged treatment rather than one permanent startup rate. The benefit year, qualifying employment income, profit distribution and current Tax Code conditions must be modelled for the actual company.
- Years 1–3: qualifying salary income tax 0%, subject to the statutory cap of GEL 10,000 per employee per month; no special profit-tax rate is provided for this phase.
- Years 4–6: qualifying salary income tax 5% and profit tax 5%.
- Years 7–10: qualifying salary income tax 10% and profit tax 10%.
- Dividend withholding, VAT and non-qualifying payments remain separate questions.
- The tax effects begin under the statutory effective-date rule, not simply on the day the application is filed.
The initial status lasts one year and must be confirmed before expiry
Innovative Startup Status is granted for one year at a time. The company applies for confirmation no later than 30 days before expiry and can continue for a maximum of ten years if the conditions for the relevant phase remain satisfied.
- For years 1–3, maintain the innovative activity, qualifying connection to the finance and compliance conditions.
- To enter years 4–6, the framework requires at least GEL 5 million aggregate investment, with at least 30% from qualifying sources.
- To enter years 7–10, it requires at least GEL 15 million aggregate investment, with at least 30% from qualifying sources.
- Keep investment, bank, accounting, product-development and employee records current throughout the status period.
The status does not provide residence or work rights
Innovative Startup Status is a company and tax framework. It does not itself grant a foreign founder, director or employee the right to work or live in Georgia. The current rules also restrict combination with International Company and Virtual Zone Person status.
- Check each foreign worker’s employer-led work-right and immigration route separately.
- Do not apply incompatible special statuses to the same company.
- Status can be cancelled for non-compliance, misleading information, misuse or failure to confirm.
- Cancellation and re-grant restrictions should be reviewed before a voluntary surrender or restructuring.
What to send us first
Send the product and financing evidence you already hold. We test the statutory innovation, accepted funding source and two-year timing before a full GITA application is commissioned.
Send us first
- Georgian company ID and current ownership structure
- Plain-language product, process or service description
- Problem, users, competition, advantage and target market
- Investment, accelerator or GITA grant agreement
- Bank and accounting evidence showing receipt and use of funds
- IP, team, development milestones and current compliance position
We prepare or coordinate
- Assess the innovation and qualifying funding route
- Trace the source, timing and transfer chain of the finance
- Prepare the application narrative and evidence map
- Coordinate GITA filing and clarification responses
- Plan annual renewal, benefit years and later investment thresholds
Obtained or confirmed later
- Registry extract issued within the required one-month period
- Additional investor/fund/accelerator eligibility evidence
- Government decision and Innovation Register records
- Annual confirmation documents
- GEL 5 million/GEL 15 million later-phase investment evidence
How the work usually proceeds
The exact order depends on the service and your documents. We confirm the steps and responsibilities before professional work begins.
- 01
model the activity and transaction flow
- 02
compare ordinary and special-status treatment
- 03
register the entity and tax accounts
- 04
prepare the status application and supporting file where applicable
- 05
maintain activity, substance, allocation and reporting evidence
How this may look in a real case
A venture-backed software platform traces the accepted investor, payment and use of funds, documents the product’s novelty and development team, and calendars the annual renewal before relying on the first-three-year salary relief.
What can slow the process down
We check these points at the beginning and flag gaps before filing, so you can correct them while there is still time.
- The company describes a new product but does not explain the statutory innovation in concrete terms.
- Funding meets the amount but the investor, accelerator, grant source, timing or transfer chain is not qualifying or traceable.
- The product activity and use of funds cannot be reconciled with contracts, bank and accounting records.
- The annual confirmation deadline is missed or later GEL 5 million/GEL 15 million investment thresholds are assumed rather than planned.
- The company applies despite an incompatible International Company or Virtual Zone status.
A clear recommendation and a managed Georgian process
We test the innovation and qualifying finance before preparing the GITA application, then calendar the annual confirmation and later investment thresholds.
ITResidency.ge is operated by ASSIO LEX & ASSOCIATES LLC, the Georgian legal and business-services provider for the engagement.
- Innovation and funding-source review
- Investment and bank evidence chain
- Application narrative and document plan
- GITA filing and clarification support
- Renewal and tax-year calendar
Frequently asked questions
What is Innovative Startup Status in Georgia?
It is a status under Georgia’s innovation framework for a Georgian company developing an innovative product, process or service and meeting a qualifying finance route. It is granted for one year at a time and may continue for up to ten years.
Can any software company qualify as an Innovative Startup?
No. The application must explain the concrete innovation, problem, users, competition, advantage, market and development work. Ordinary software delivery or a new company registration is not enough.
What funding is required?
Within the two years before application, the company normally needs at least GEL 100,000 from an accepted fund, angel-investor network or member, or accelerator, or at least GEL 150,000 under a GITA grant.
Can foreign parent-company funding count?
Potentially, where the funds can be traced to a qualifying original investor source and through the parent or subsidiary to the Georgian applicant. Ordinary shareholder funding without the required source does not automatically satisfy the test.
Can a foreign-owned Georgian company qualify?
Foreign ownership is not itself disqualifying. The applicant must be a Georgian entrepreneurial company and must satisfy the innovation, finance, activity and compliance conditions.
What documents does GITA review?
The file includes a recent registry extract, detailed innovation description, qualifying financing agreement and receipt evidence, and the supporting ownership, product, IP, development, team and compliance records required for the case.
What is the application fee and review time?
The current government fee is GEL 200 and the procedure provides a 15-working-day review period. An identified gap may be given a ten-working-day cure period under the procedure.
What tax benefits apply in years 1–3?
Qualifying employment income can use 0% during years 1–3, subject to the statutory GEL 10,000 monthly cap per employee. The first phase does not provide a special profit-tax rate. Dividends and VAT remain separate.
What changes in years 4–6 and 7–10?
The framework provides 5% qualifying salary and profit tax in years 4–6 and 10% in years 7–10, subject to the company retaining the status and meeting the relevant continuation conditions.
How long does the status last and how is it renewed?
The initial status lasts one year. The company applies for confirmation no later than 30 days before expiry. To enter later phases, aggregate investment thresholds of GEL 5 million and GEL 15 million, with qualifying-source percentages, become relevant.
Can the company also hold International Company or Virtual Zone status?
The current framework restricts these combinations. Compatibility must be checked before applying, surrendering or restructuring a status.
Does Innovative Startup Status give founders or employees residence rights?
No. Work rights and residence are separate personal decisions. Each foreign founder, director and employee needs an individual analysis.
Can ITResidency.ge assess the startup before application?
Yes. We can review the innovation narrative, funding source and timing, corporate and bank evidence, compliance position and later-phase plan before the company commissions a full application file.
