diff --git a/core/metadata/snapshot.go b/core/metadata/snapshot.go
index d22cc36169..132de60ec7 100644
--- a/core/metadata/snapshot.go
+++ b/core/metadata/snapshot.go
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/pkg/filters"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/pkg/labels"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/pkg/namespaces"
-	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/pkg/timeout"
 	"github.com/containerd/errdefs"
 	"github.com/containerd/log"
 	bolt "go.etcd.io/bbolt"
@@ -42,20 +41,6 @@ const (
 	inheritedLabelsPrefix = "containerd.io/snapshot/"
 )
 
-// gcSnapshotterRemoveTimeoutKey bounds each Snapshotter.Remove during garbage
-// collection, which holds the snapshotter write lock: an unresponsive
-// snapshotter (e.g. a hung proxy plugin RPC) would otherwise block all
-// snapshot operations forever. On timeout the rest of the pass is abandoned;
-// remaining snapshots stay orphaned and are retried on the next GC pass.
-const (
-	gcSnapshotterRemoveTimeoutKey     = "io.containerd.timeout.gc.snapshotter.remove"
-	defaultGCSnapshotterRemoveTimeout = 30 * time.Minute
-)
-
-func init() {
-	timeout.Set(gcSnapshotterRemoveTimeoutKey, defaultGCSnapshotterRemoveTimeout)
-}
-
 type snapshotter struct {
 	snapshots.Snapshotter
 	name string
@@ -1004,10 +989,7 @@ func (s *snapshotter) pruneBranch(ctx context.Context, node *treeNode) error {
 
 	if node.remove {
 		logger := log.G(ctx).WithField("snapshotter", s.name)
-		removeCtx, cancel := timeout.WithContext(ctx, gcSnapshotterRemoveTimeoutKey)
-		err := s.Snapshotter.Remove(removeCtx, node.info.Name)
-		cancel()
-		if err != nil {
+		if err := s.Snapshotter.Remove(ctx, node.info.Name); err != nil {
 			if !errdefs.IsFailedPrecondition(err) {
 				return err
 			}
diff --git a/core/metadata/snapshot_test.go b/core/metadata/snapshot_test.go
index f82a277bc5..ae818aebed 100644
--- a/core/metadata/snapshot_test.go
+++ b/core/metadata/snapshot_test.go
@@ -18,14 +18,11 @@ package metadata
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"maps"
 	"reflect"
 	"sync"
-	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
-	"testing/synctest"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/v2/core/leases"
@@ -460,94 +457,3 @@ func (s *tmpSnapshotter) Walk(ctx context.Context, fn snapshots.WalkFunc, fs ...
 func (s *tmpSnapshotter) Close() error {
 	return nil
 }
-
-type hangingRemoveSnapshotter struct {
-	snapshots.Snapshotter
-	removes  atomic.Int32
-	cleanups atomic.Int32
-}
-
-func (s *hangingRemoveSnapshotter) Remove(ctx context.Context, key string) error {
-	s.removes.Add(1)
-	<-ctx.Done()
-	return ctx.Err()
-}
-
-// Cleanup makes the wrapper a snapshots.Cleaner so the test can assert GC does
-// not call it after abandoning a pass. This stub returns immediately; a real
-// wedged snapshotter would hang here just like it does in Remove.
-func (s *hangingRemoveSnapshotter) Cleanup(ctx context.Context) error {
-	s.cleanups.Add(1)
-	return nil
-}
-
-func TestGarbageCollectHangingRemove(t *testing.T) {
-	synctest.Test(t, func(t *testing.T) {
-		ctx, bdb := testEnv(t)
-
-		sn := &hangingRemoveSnapshotter{Snapshotter: NewTmpSnapshotter()}
-		db := NewDB(bdb, nil, map[string]snapshots.Snapshotter{"tmp": sn})
-		if err := db.Init(ctx); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-
-		// Orphan snapshots: exist in the backend but not in metadata, so GC removes them.
-		for _, key := range []string{"orphan-1", "orphan-2"} {
-			if _, err := sn.Snapshotter.Prepare(ctx, key, ""); err != nil {
-				t.Fatal(err)
-			}
-		}
-
-		// The fake clock reaches the removal deadline as soon as Remove blocks,
-		// so this runs against the real default instead of a shortened one. An
-		// unbounded Remove would deadlock the bubble rather than pass.
-		msn := db.Snapshotter("tmp").(*snapshotter)
-		_, err := msn.garbageCollect(ctx)
-		if !errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
-			t.Fatalf("expected the bounded Remove to fail with DeadlineExceeded, got %v", err)
-		}
-
-		// The pass is abandoned after the first timed-out removal.
-		if n := sn.removes.Load(); n != 1 {
-			t.Fatalf("expected 1 remove attempt before abandoning the pass, got %d", n)
-		}
-		// Cleanup must be skipped after an abandoned pass: the snapshotter just
-		// failed to answer a bounded Remove, and Cleanup has no bound.
-		if n := sn.cleanups.Load(); n != 0 {
-			t.Fatalf("expected no Cleanup call after abandoned pass, got %d", n)
-		}
-		// Skipped snapshots stay orphaned for the next GC pass.
-		for _, key := range []string{"orphan-1", "orphan-2"} {
-			if _, err := sn.Snapshotter.Stat(ctx, key); err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("orphan %q should survive for the next GC pass: %v", key, err)
-			}
-		}
-	})
-}
-
-type failingRemoveSnapshotter struct {
-	snapshots.Snapshotter
-}
-
-func (s *failingRemoveSnapshotter) Remove(ctx context.Context, key string) error {
-	return errdefs.ErrFailedPrecondition
-}
-
-func TestGarbageCollectFailedPreconditionRemove(t *testing.T) {
-	ctx, bdb := testEnv(t)
-
-	sn := &failingRemoveSnapshotter{Snapshotter: NewTmpSnapshotter()}
-	db := NewDB(bdb, nil, map[string]snapshots.Snapshotter{"tmp": sn})
-	if err := db.Init(ctx); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	if _, err := sn.Snapshotter.Prepare(ctx, "orphan", ""); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	msn := db.Snapshotter("tmp").(*snapshotter)
-	if _, err := msn.garbageCollect(ctx); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("FailedPrecondition on Remove must not fail garbage collection: %v", err)
-	}
-}
diff --git a/docs/man/containerd-config.toml.5.md b/docs/man/containerd-config.toml.5.md
index 79e39d9390..d5f86acbf5 100644
--- a/docs/man/containerd-config.toml.5.md
+++ b/docs/man/containerd-config.toml.5.md
@@ -178,7 +178,6 @@ documentation.
   "io.containerd.timeout.shim.cleanup" = "5s"
   "io.containerd.timeout.shim.load" = "5s"
   "io.containerd.timeout.shim.shutdown" = "3s"
-  "io.containerd.timeout.gc.snapshotter.remove" = "30m"
   "io.containerd.timeout.task.state" = "2s" -->
 
 **imports**