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08.08.2026

Seizure of Assets and Bank Accounts in Georgia: A Debtor's Rights and How to Protect Them

Seizure (qadagha) is a compulsory enforcement measure applied by the National Bureau of Enforcement or by a private enforcement officer on the basis of a writ of execution or another enforceable act provided by law. Within 5 days of the commencement of enforcement, the debtor receives a proposal to satisfy the claim voluntarily within 7 days. Once that period expires without result, the inventory of assets begins, collection orders are submitted to banks, and the debtor is entered into the Register of Debtors. The debtor retains genuine legal instruments: appeal against the enforcement officer's action within 15 calendar days to the Chairman of the Bureau or within 1 month directly to court, rescheduling of the obligation into instalments for up to 12 months, voluntary sale of the asset before the auction is publicly announced, and reliance on the limitation period.

Seizure of property or of a bank account is rarely a sudden event, it is always the consequence of something. The problem is not usually that a person cannot identify where the debt came from. The problem is that they start reacting once the most effective deadlines have already passed.

This article walks through enforcement proceedings in sequence: where they begin, what stages they pass through, which assets they can reach, and most importantly, what leverage the debtor holds at each specific moment. It is based on the Law of Georgia on Enforcement Proceedings and the Civil Code of Georgia.

Where seizure comes from: the enforceable act and the writ of execution

The first widespread misconception is that seizure can only follow a court judgment.

Article 2 of the Law sets out a fairly broad list of acts subject to enforcement. These include:

judgments, rulings and decrees in civil and administrative cases that have entered into legal force;
decisions declared immediately enforceable under Article 268 of the Civil Procedure Code;
notarial acts — meaning that going to court is not always necessary;
pledge certificates;
arbitral awards, including foreign or international arbitral awards where their enforcement is provided for by international treaty;
individual administrative acts issued by a competent authority in an administrative offence case;
acts of national regulatory bodies, the National Bank of Georgia, the Deposit Insurance Agency and the Pension Fund imposing fines as a sanction;
mediation settlements for which a court ruling has been issued and a writ of execution granted.

A notarised loan agreement or a pledge certificate is, in itself, a basis for enforcement. Many business owners fail to appreciate this at the moment of signature.

Enforcement is carried out by the LEPL National Bureau of Enforcement, which operates under the Ministry of Justice, through its territorial enforcement bureaus. In cases defined by law, enforcement may also be carried out by a private enforcement officer, but only where the parties are natural persons and/or private legal entities and the monetary claim to be enforced does not exceed GEL 500,000.

The seven days that are most often overlooked

Within 5 days of the commencement of enforcement, the enforcement officer sends the debtor a proposal to satisfy the claim voluntarily within 7 days (Article 25 of the Law). The proposal is served in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code.

This deadline is not a formality. It is precisely after it expires that:

the debtor is entered into the Register of Debtors;
the inventory and seizure of assets begins;
collection orders are sent to the banks.

The enforcement fee burden also changes at this exact stage, as discussed in detail below.

If you have received the proposal and cannot pay the full amount, that does not mean nothing can be done. These 7 days are precisely when it makes the most sense to open negotiations with the creditor on a settlement or on an instalment plan.

The Register of Debtors: the most underestimated consequence

The Register of Debtors, governed by Article 19¹ of the Law, is a systematised electronic body of data on natural and legal persons against whom enforcement commenced on or after 1 January 2010 and in respect of whom the voluntary compliance period has expired. State and local self-government bodies are excluded, as are debtors under secured claims.

Why does this matter so much? Because the Register is public, and entry into it restricts the ability to dispose of assets until the person is struck off. In practice this means:

notarial and registration transactions become difficult or impossible;
banking services may be refused or offered on tightened terms;
commercial reputational damage for a counterparty this check is a single search away.

For a business, entry into the Register frequently costs more than the disputed amount itself.

Which assets can be seized?

Seizure is not universal. Under Article 45(2) of the Law, seizure does not extend to items of personal use or household items that are necessary to the debtor for their professional activity, daily life and household.

Separate restrictions are established by Article 2¹. Property covered by Article 4 of the Law on State Property is not subject to compulsory enforcement, compulsory auction, seizure or sequestration. Enforcement measures do not extend to financial collateral, to pension assets under the funded and voluntary private pension schemes, or to assets held on behalf of clients by brokers, banks, depositories and payment service providers, provided those assets are recorded separately from the institution's own assets.

This last rule is often decisive in practice. If the funds in your account belong not to you but to a client, and that separation is properly documented, directing seizure at those funds is impermissible.

Seizure may attach not only to a physical asset but also to a claim the debtor holds against a third party (Article 55) — receivables, for example. Under Article 48(2), the inventory and seizure act must also list, with an indication of value, those items that remain with the debtor.

Bank account blocking and collection orders

The enforcement officer holds broad information-gathering powers. Under Article 17, every administrative body, banking institution and any natural or legal person in a contractual relationship with the debtor is obliged to disclose information on the debtor's financial position, income, bank accounts, account balances and turnover.

A collection order is then submitted to the bank. This is the moment at which a person discovers that their card no longer works, often without knowing which case caused it.

The first step in that situation: immediately request information about the enforcement case, which enforceable act the proceedings are based on, who the creditor is, what the amount is, and when the specific enforcement action was carried out. That information determines which appeal deadline started running, and when.

The auction

Seized property is realised through compulsory auction. Under Article 75(8) of the Law, the auction consists of a first auction and two repeat auctions.

Here lies a deadline whose loss is irreversible. Under Article 70(1), from the day the compulsory auction is publicly announced it is prohibited to terminate, suspend or postpone the auction, to release the property from seizure, or to return the writ of execution.

For that reason, every negotiation, settlement or attempt at a voluntary sale must be concluded before the auction is publicly announced. After that point, the room for legal manoeuvre effectively disappears.

The enforcement fee: 7% or 2%

This is the part that surprises debtors most often.

The enforcement fee is the charge for services rendered by the National Bureau of Enforcement, and as a general rule it is borne by the debtor. Under Article 38 of the Law and the relevant Order of the Minister of Justice, for certain categories, including decisions declared immediately enforceable under Article 268 of the Civil Procedure Code, fines imposed under criminal and administrative law, and sums payable to the State Budget, the fee is 7% of the monetary claim to be enforced, imposed on the debtor from the moment enforcement commences.

At the same time, the law provides for a reduced rate: where the debtor satisfies the claim in full within the period set for voluntary compliance, the fee is 2% of the monetary claim.

On a GEL 100,000 claim, the difference between 7% and 2% is GEL 5,000. That is precisely the sum people lose by failing to respond to the seven-day proposal.

Five real instruments available to the debtor

1. Appeal against the enforcement officer's action

A party to the enforcement proceedings, and any interested person whose legitimate interest is directly and immediately affected by the enforcement officer's action, has the right to:

appeal that action once to the Chairman of the National Bureau of Enforcement, within 15 calendar days of the action; or
appeal directly to court, within 1 month of the action.

An appeal does not automatically suspend the contested enforcement action, suspension must be requested separately.

2. Rescheduling the obligation into instalments

In cases concerning the recovery of a sum of money, the National Bureau of Enforcement is empowered to reschedule the debtor's performance into instalments: on its own initiative where the case is enforced in favour of the State Budget, and, in all other cases, with the creditor's consent.

This means that agreement with the creditor is not a technical detail but a legal precondition. It is exactly here that professionally conducted negotiation acquires real value.

3. Voluntary sale of the asset by the debtor

Under Article 49(4), the National Bureau of Enforcement may, before the auction is publicly announced, allow the debtor to sell the asset themselves under the Bureau's supervision.

This is often the best economic outcome available. Property sold at auction typically realises significantly below market value; a supervised sale by the debtor preserves the chance of clearing the debt and retaining the surplus.

4. Suspension of enforcement

Article 36 provides several grounds for suspension, including: at the creditor's request once, for no more than three months, and in exceptional circumstances, by decision of the Chairman of the Bureau, for the period specified in that decision.

5. The limitation period

Under Article 34, enforcement is terminated once the limitation period for the compulsory enforcement of the decision has expired.

In substantive terms, Article 142 of the Civil Code applies: a claim confirmed by a judgment that has entered into legal force is subject to a ten-year limitation period even where the claim was originally subject to a shorter period. However, where the confirmation concerns periodic recurring obligations to be performed in the future, the three-year limitation period under Article 129(2) applies instead.

In practice, this distinction is frequently decisive in cases involving maintenance payments, interest and other recurring sums.

Five mistakes that cost debtors the most

No response to the seven-day proposal. The Register, the seizure and the higher fee are all triggered automatically.
Waiting for the matter to "sort itself out". Once the auction has been publicly announced, suspension, postponement and release from seizure are excluded by law.
Confusing the 15-day and one-month deadlines. These are two independent routes with different time limits and different consequences.
Assuming seizure reaches every asset. The law protects items necessary for professional activity and the household, as well as segregated client assets.
Neglecting negotiation. Instalment plans, settlements and supervised sales all depend on the creditor's consent or the Bureau's discretion, and both can be obtained.

Frequently asked questions

Can seizure be lifted by partially repaying the debt? Not automatically. Seizure secures the entire enforceable claim, including the fee and costs. On partial repayment, the matter is resolved by agreement with the enforcement officer and the creditor or, where the value of the seized property clearly exceeds the claim, by requesting the release of part of the property from seizure.

How long does a person remain in the Register of Debtors? Removal occurs upon completion of the enforcement proceedings, repayment of the debt, a court decision, or another ground defined by law. There is no automatic deletion by lapse of time.

Is seizure possible without a court judgment? Yes. Notarial acts, pledge certificates and individual administrative acts of competent authorities are all acts subject to enforcement.

Who pays the enforcement fee? As a general rule, the debtor. For certain categories it amounts to 7% of the monetary claim and is imposed on the debtor from the commencement of enforcement; where the claim is satisfied in full within the voluntary compliance period, it is 2%.

Does an appeal suspend enforcement? No, not automatically. Suspension must be requested separately.

Conclusion

In enforcement proceedings, time translates directly into money and into legal options. Seven days determine whether you pay 7% or 2%. Fifteen calendar days and one month determine whether you have a route of appeal at all. And the day the auction is publicly announced is the point after which the law effectively closes the space for negotiation.

If you or your company has had a bank account restricted, property seized, or has received a proposal for voluntary compliance, the clock has already started running.

The L&L Consulting team provides full legal analysis of enforcement cases, appeals against enforcement officers' actions, negotiation with creditors and the securing of instalment arrangements, acting for debtors and creditors alike.

Author

Zurab Loria — Attorney at Law, Managing Partner, L&L Consulting.