Non-established None
Distance selling
Intra-Community acquisitions
Electronically supplied services
EUR10,000
EUR14,000
EUR10,000
Recovery of VAT by non-established businesses Yes, subject to certain conditions
B. Scope of the tax
VAT applies to the following transactions:
• The supply of goods or services in Lithuania supplied for consideration by a taxable person performing economic activities
• The intra-Community acquisition of goods from another European Union (EU) Member State by a taxable person (see the EU chapter)
• The importation of goods into Lithuania (subject to import VAT)
• Certain other cases linked to the international traffic of goods (for example, the supply of goods that are intended to be produced to customs and placed in temporary storage, the supply of goods that are intended to be placed in a free zone and the supply of goods that are intended to be placed under customs warehousing arrangements or special inward processing procedure)
Quick Fixes. Pending introduction of a “definitive” system for the VAT treatment of intra-Community supplies of goods to taxable persons, the EU has adopted Quick Fixes for intra-Community trade in goods. For an overview of Quick Fixes rules, see the EU chapter. For documentary requirements see Section H. Invoicing, subsection Proof of exports and intra-Community supplies.
The Quick Fixes were adopted by implementing the respective amendments of the Lithuanian Law on VAT, which in general follows the Directive with few minor deviations. The following amendments were implemented:
• Call-off stock arrangements
• Chain transactions
• Mandatory VAT identification number to apply the zero VAT rate to intra-Community supplies
• Documentary evidence of proof of intra-Community supplies
In regard to the regulation on the evidence (documentation) of cross-border transportation, the supplier has the right to choose whether to provide documents according to the current Lithuanian practice (concerning a set of coherent documents proving the transport, the destination document, etc.) or the evidence specified in the Article 45a of the updated Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 282/2011. If the supplier chooses to prove intra-Community supplies based on the documents specified in EU Directive, the tax authorities should not require more documents to prove the intra-Community transport.
Effective use and enjoyment. To avoid instances of non-taxation or double taxation, EU Member States can apply use and enjoyment rules that allow a service that is “used and enjoyed” in the EU to be taxed or prevent a service that is “used and enjoyed” outside the EU from being taxed. If a service is taxed in the EU under the use and enjoyment provisions, a non-EU supplier of the service may be required to register for VAT in every Member State where it has customers that are not taxable persons. For information regarding the rules relating to VAT registration, see the chapters on the respective EU countries.
In Lithuania, no services are subject to the “use and enjoyment” provisions.
Transfer of a going concern. If the taxable person transfers a business or part of the business as a complex (i.e., including its assets and other related rights and obligations) to another taxable person as a going concern, such transfer of activities shall not be deemed to be neither a supply
Fixed establishment. In Lithuania, a fixed establishment is considered a structural or other division of a taxable person through which a taxable person of one country supplies and/or acquires goods and/or provides and/or receives services in another country. The criteria of fixed establishment defined in the Regulation No. 282/2011 are applied in Lithuania. No special guidelines are available from the tax authorities. The official Commentary of the Law on VAT only provides the general definition of a fixed establishment and gives the link to Regulation No. 282/2011.
Non-established businesses. A “non-established business” is a business that does not have a fixed establishment in Lithuania. A non-established business must register for VAT in Lithuania if it makes taxable supplies of goods or services in Lithuania. No VAT registration threshold applies to supplies made by foreign non-established businesses; that is, registration is required in the event a taxable supply is made in Lithuania, unless the reverse charge applies or unless the supply is outside the scope of VAT or is exempt. As mentioned above, for certain supplies, VAT registration is required even though the VAT zero-rate applies.
At the time of preparing this chapter, a proposal has been made to incorporate a small enterprise scheme, which would allow foreign non-established small enterprises to avoid the VAT registration in Lithuania if their turnover does not exceed the threshold, effective from 1 January 2025. For more information, refer to Section C Who is liable. However, this proposal is still under consideration in Parliament and has not yet been approved
A non-established business must register for VAT in Lithuania if it makes distance sales of goods and/or supply of services to end customers (B2C) in Lithuania greater than EUR10,000 in the current or previous calendar year, unless it is registered for VAT with respect to a special taxation scheme (e.g., non-EU scheme, EU scheme or IOSS scheme) in another EU Member State. In the latter case, such business is not obliged to register for VAT in Lithuania with respect to the supplies made under those taxation schemes to nontaxable persons in Lithuania.
Tax representatives. A non-established business must register for VAT through a fixed establishment in Lithuania or appoint a fiscal representative.
The requirement to appoint a fiscal representative is not applicable to non-established businesses that are based in other EU Member States, as well as to non-established businesses that register for VAT in Lithuania only for the application of special taxation schemes, i.e., non-EU scheme, EU scheme or IOSS scheme. The requirement to appoint the fiscal representative is also not applicable to non-EU established businesses that are based in the territories where the provisions of Mutual assistance agreements are applied, which essentially are equivalent to the provisions of Directive No 2010/24/EU and Regulation No. 904/2010. The fiscal representative becomes jointly liable for VAT obligations with the company they are representing. Based on the rules on appointing the fiscal representative in Lithuania published by the Ministry of Finance, the fiscal representative must meet certain criteria, for example:
• The taxable person must be engaged in one of the following activities – legal, accounting, bookkeeping and/or audit, tax consulting
• Is registered for VAT purposes in Lithuania for at least three years
• Does not have tax arrears or debts to Customs over the past 12 months
• The management of the entity must have clean criminal record in terms of financial and tax matters
Reverse charge. Reverse charge. Under the reverse-charge rule, a Lithuanian customer that is a taxable person established in Lithuania is responsible for the calculation and payment of VAT on taxable supplies in Lithuania from foreign taxable persons non-established in Lithuania, unless either of the following circumstances exists:
• The supply is used by a fixed establishment of the person outside Lithuania
• The supply falls under the list of exceptions
In the view of IOSS scheme, the country of OSS registration shall be understood as below:
• When a taxable person is established outside the EU – the EU Member State in which such taxable person decides to register for OSS
• When a taxable person established outside the EU has a division in the EU Member State – that EU Member State
• When a taxable person is established in the EU Member State – that EU Member State
• When the import agent is established in the EU Member State – that EU Member State
• When the import agent established outside the EU has a division in the EU Member State – that EU Member State
Respectively, in the IOSS scheme, the country of consumption is the EU Member State in which the transport of the goods to the final customer ends.
A taxable person established outside the EU, in the territory where the provisions of mutual assistance agreements are not applied, which essentially are equivalent to the provisions of Directive No 2010/24/EU and Regulation No. 904/2010, that performs distance sales of goods imported from that territory shall appoint an import agent to use the IOSS scheme.
The deadline to submit the VAT return via OSS and pay the VAT for an IOSS scheme is the last day of the month following the taxable period, which is a calendar month. When making payment, the identification number assigned to the VAT return in the OSS system shall be indicated. If no goods were supplied during the taxable period, a nil-VAT return shall be submitted. If it is necessary to correct the data of the VAT return submitted via OSS, all the corrections shall be made in the subsequent VAT return within three years after the date when the initial return had to be submitted.
To register for OSS, a taxable person shall submit the respective registration application via the OSS system (www.vmi.lt/oss).
For more details about the IOSS, see the EU chapter.
Use of the IOSS special scheme is not mandatory. If VAT is not collected via the IOSS scheme, the importation of goods into the EU is subject to import VAT in the country of final destination, and the Member State can decide freely who is liable to pay the import VAT, which could be the customer or the seller (or an electronic interface).
Postal Services and Couriers Scheme. If the IOSS is not used and the customer is liable for the import VAT due on the supply (and importation) of consignments with a small intrinsic value (i.e., less than EUR150), the VAT can be collected using the special scheme for postal services and couriers. For more details about the special scheme for postal services and couriers, see the EU chapter.
In Lithuania, under this scheme, the obligation to pay the import VAT falls to the final customer to whom the goods are intended and who pays the import VAT to the taxable person, who declares these goods to customs. In other words, a taxable person that declares goods to customs (e.g., postal services provider or courier), collects the related import VAT from the final customer of the goods and pays it.
Respectively, postal services provider or courier at the end of each calendar month shall submit to the customs the respective report via electronic means containing information on the import VAT collected under this scheme. Both the person declaring the goods to customs, as well as the person to whom the goods are intended are jointly and severally liable for the payment of import VAT.
Online marketplaces and platforms. Under the new EU VAT e-commerce rules, taxable persons that “facilitate” certain B2C sales of goods are deemed to have purchased and then supplied those
goods themselves. This means that the single supply from the “underlying” supplier to the final consumer is split into two deemed supplies:
• A supply from the supplier to the facilitator (deemed B2B supply)
• A supply from the facilitator to the final customer (deemed B2C supply). Any intermediation service provided by the facilitator is disregarded for VAT purposes
This provision does not cover all sales facilitated via the facilitator. It only covers distance sales of goods imported from non-EU jurisdictions in consignments with an intrinsic value not exceeding EUR150. The jurisdiction of the residence of the supplier using the facilitator is irrelevant. The supply to the facilitating platform is VAT exempt and the supplies made by that platform follow the e-commerce VAT rules as described above. In addition, the provision also covers sales within the EU, if the supplier is not established within the EU. This applies to both local shipments within one Member State, as well as intra-Community shipments. In both cases, the final customer must be a nontaxable person.
In Lithuania there are no additional specific local rules that apply.
For more details about the rules for online marketplaces, see the EU chapter.
Vouchers. Lithuania has adopted provisions of the Council Directive (EU) 2016/1065. Changes in the local legislation defined single-purpose vouchers (SPV) and multipurpose vouchers (MPV) and set the rules on taxation with VAT of transactions in both cases. New rules shall apply to all vouchers released from 1 January 2019 and onward.
SPVs are defined as vouchers where the place of supply of the goods or services to which the voucher relates, and VAT due on those goods or services is known at the time of issue of the voucher. An MPV is any voucher that is not a single-purpose voucher.
A transfer of an SPV shall be treated as a supply of goods or services to which the voucher relates (i.e., it is treated as a supply), and VAT shall be accounted for accordingly. MPVs shall only be subject to VAT when the voucher is redeemed, i.e., no VAT shall be due when the voucher is transferred through the supply chain. The value on which VAT should be accounted for is either the price paid by the consumer, or if that is not known, the face value of the voucher, less the amount of VAT relating to the goods or services supplied.
Registration procedures. Applications for registration as a Lithuanian taxable person and as a Lithuanian VAT payer can be filed electronically (recommended) through the system Mano VMI or manually (paper) sent by post. Registration as a Lithuanian taxable person takes up to five working days, and registration as a Lithuanian VAT payer takes up to three working days.
Note that a taxable person is a person who performs economic activities in Lithuania and who has the obligation to declare its transactions but is not obliged to register for VAT purposes. Meanwhile, a VAT payer is a taxable person, who was obliged to register for VAT purposes due to its transactions in Lithuania and who has already done that. For example, Lithuanian entities are not obliged to register for VAT purposes when their turnover does not exceed EUR45,000 in the preceding 12 months (note the above proposal to increase the threshold to EUR55,000). However, such entities are still obliged to register as Lithuanian taxable persons to be able to declare its transactions and to use the tax authorities’ electronic systems.
The registration is performed via the individual account of the electronic system Mano VMI. It is given automatically to each resident of Lithuania (taxable person who is natural person). In respect to the access to a business’s Mano VMI, it is provided to the representatives of the business as per registration application (e.g., head of the company, authorized persons). All other persons must be added manually. Note that the access to the business’s account is also possible to foreign individuals, however, it is more complex.
• Accommodation services supplied according to the legislation regulating tourism activities
• Fuel wood and wood products intended for heating households
• Supplies of catering services and take-away food provided by restaurants, cafes and similar catering services, except for alcoholic beverages and services or parts of services related to alcoholic beverages (applicable until 31 December 2023)
• Visiting all types of sports events, sports clubs and attendance of other persons providing services similar to those provided by sports clubs, when such se The option is applied only if the above services are suppl rvices are not exempt from VAT under Lithuanian VAT law (applicable until 30 June 2023)
• Visiting all types of artistic and cultural institutions or events, when such services are not exempt from VAT under Lithuanian VAT law
• Performance services provided by performers (e.g., actors, singers, musicians, conductors, dancers or other persons who play, sing, read, recite or otherwise perform literary, artistic, folklore or circus numbers) (applicable until 30 June 2023)
The term “exempt supplies” refers to supplies of goods and services that are not liable to VAT and that do not qualify for input tax deduction.
Examples of exempt supplies of goods and services
• Health care services and goods
• Real estate rent and disposals
• Insurance and reinsurance services
• Certain financial services
• Cultural and sporting activities
• Educational and training services
• Betting, gambling and lotteries
• Universal postal services
• Social services and related goods
• Supplies of special marks
• Radio and television services
• Goods and services supplied by nonprofit legal entities
• Imported goods (certain cases)
• Services supplied by independent groups, as in the Articles 132-134 of Directive 2006/112/EC
Option to tax for exempt supplies. A taxable person may opt to charge VAT on these supplies:
• Rent of real estate
• Disposal of real estate
• Certain financial services
The option is applied only if the above services are supplied to the taxable person VAT payer. The tax authorities should be formally notified about the decision. A taxable person that has opted to charge VAT on any of the above services should charge VAT on all similar transactions for a period of not less than 24 months.
E. Time of supply
The time when VAT becomes due is called the “time of supply” or “tax point.” The basic time of supply for goods and services is when the VAT invoice is issued. If an invoice is not issued, the time of supply is when the earlier of the following events occurs:
• Goods or services are supplied
• Payment for goods or services is received
Deposits and prepayments. The time of supply for a prepayment received before the supply is made is when the prepayment or the total payment is received. This rule applies to contracts that
provide for a supply after 12 months. If the prepayment is received and if the supply will be triggered earlier than 12 months beginning on the date of the signing of the contract, the taxable person may choose the date of receipt of prepayment as the time of supply and calculate the VAT on this prepayment.
If the invoice is issued upon the receipt of prepayment, the remuneration indicated in the final invoice shall be reduced by the amount of prepayment. If special margin schemes for travel agents and for secondhand goods, works of art, collectors’ items and antiques are applied, the treatment of prepayments does not apply.
Continuous supplies of services. In the case where long-term services are supplied, i.e., services that are supplied for a certain continuous period such as telecommunications, leases, and in the case of long-term supply of electricity, gas, heat and other types of energy, VAT shall become chargeable when the VAT invoice for the supply of goods or services during the accounting period is issued. In cases where the VAT invoice is not issued, VAT is chargeable upon receipt of the consideration for goods or services supplied during the accounting period.
Goods sent on approval for sale or return. There are no special time of supply rules in Lithuania for supplies of goods sent on approval for sale or return. As such, the general time of supply rules apply (as outlined above). Thus, businesses should consider other simplification measures that could possibly apply in these cases (e.g., call-off stock simplification), due to timing of charging VAT, issuing invoices and/or VAT registration obligations.
If goods are returned to the seller and to the same EU Member State, the transaction is deemed as annulled, and it does not result in VAT obligations in Lithuania. If the goods are not sold but are not returned to the seller, the seller may be liable for VAT on the basis of making a fictitious intra-Community acquisition and a supply for private use.
Reverse-charge services. The time of supply for reverse-charge services is the date on which the invoice for the services is issued. If an invoice for the services is not issued, the time of supply for the services is when the earliest of the following events occurs:
• The services are provided
• The consideration is paid for the services provided
Leased assets. VAT shall become chargeable on the supply of leased assets when the goods are transferred in cases where goods are transferred under a lease contract or other contract that provides for payment on deferred terms or by installments and under the terms of this transaction a major part of risk and benefit relating to the ownership of the goods as well as the ownership of the goods shall pass to the person to whom the goods have been transferred.
Imported goods. Import VAT shall become chargeable upon the entry of the goods from a third country territory into the territory of Lithuania. Where the goods imported into the territory of Lithuania are subjected to certain actions, procedures or arrangements specified in VAT law, import VAT shall become chargeable upon cessation of the application of said actions, procedures or arrangements within the territory of Lithuania.
Postponed accounting for imports applies to imports made by taxable VAT payers. The import VAT due is calculated by the customs authority, but the VAT is included and recovered on the VAT return in the same taxable period.
Intra-Community acquisitions. The time of supply for the goods acquired from another EU Member State is the date on which the supplier issues an invoice, but not later than the 15th day of the month following the month during which the transport of goods began.
Intra-Community supplies of goods. VAT shall become chargeable for the goods supplied to another Member State when the VAT invoice for the supply of goods is issued, but not later than the 15th day of the month following the month in which the goods were dispatched.
from VAT and will not be using the capital goods in its future taxable activities. The adjustment may result in either an increase or a decrease of deductible input tax, depending on whether the taxable person’s recovery percentage increased or decreased in the year, compared with the year in which the capital goods were acquired or first used.
In Lithuania, the capital goods adjustment applies to the following assets for the number of years indicated:
• Property immovable by its nature, including improvement of buildings or structures: adjusted for a period of 10 years
• Other types of tangible capital assets legally required to be depreciated over a period of at least four years for purposes of the taxes on profit or income: adjusted for a period of five years
In Lithuania, the capital goods adjustment does not apply to any services, unless the respective services were capitalized into the asset value.
The adjustment is applied each year following the year of acquisition, to a fraction of the total input tax (1/10 for immovable property and 1/5 for other tangible capital goods).
Refunds. If the amount of input tax that is deductible for a VAT period exceeds the amount of output tax that is chargeable in the same period, the taxable person has a VAT credit. The credit must first be used to offset other taxes payable. If the amount of VAT credit exceeds all taxes payable, the excess is refunded either on a monthly or semiannual basis (when a taxable person does not meet the minimum requirements for a reliable taxable person). This means that if a taxable person meets the minimum requirements for a reliable taxable person, then the VAT overpayment can be refunded monthly, and if it does not, it can only be refunded on a semiannual basis. The minimum requirements for a reliable taxable person are specified in Article 40-1 of the Lithuanian Law on Tax Administration. For details on the reliable taxable person status, see the Penalties for late registration and Penalties for errors subsections below.
Pre-registration costs. Input tax may be subject to VAT recovery in those cases where VAT was paid on goods or services acquired before an entity was registered as taxable person. Special rules and procedures apply, for example:
• Goods or services acquired before registering for VAT should have a direct link with the taxable activities after the registration and should be used in taxable activities.
• Where goods or services were acquired before registering for VAT, the input tax incurred on the purchase may be deducted only if the taxable person can prove the actual use of those goods or services in the taxable activities. Formally, it is also accepted to show the intention of the goods or services. However, it is often reviewed on a case-by-case basis and subject to sufficient supporting evidence.
Bad debts. Suppliers may be able to reduce the calculated payable VAT with the output tax amount attributable to bad debts (not applicable to margin schemes and when the supplier of goods or provider of services is a related person). As indicated in VAT law, a receivable remuneration is considered as a bad debt (including output tax), if the person cannot recover such remuneration for at least 12 calendar months from the taxation moment of the supplied goods or provided services and if the output tax amount was calculated and declared.
Noneconomic activities. Input tax incurred on purchases that are used for noneconomic activities is not recoverable in Lithuania.
G. Recovery of VAT by non-established businesses
Input tax incurred by non-established businesses not registered for VAT in Lithuania is recoverable. The Lithuanian tax authoritie refunds VAT incurred by businesses that are neither established nor registered for VAT in Lithuania. Non-established businesses may claim Lithuanian VAT to the same extent as VAT-registered businesses.
EU businesses. For businesses established in the EU, a refund is made under the terms of the EU Directive 2008/9/EC. The VAT refund procedure under the EU Directive 2008/9 may be used only if the business did not perform any taxable supplies in Lithuania during the refund period (excluding supplies covered by the reverse charge). For full details, see the EU chapter
Find below specific rules for Lithuania:
• A taxable person that is not established in Lithuania (that is, they are registered for VAT in another EU Member State) must submit the VAT refund application to the electronic VAT refund system through their home country tax authority.
• VAT refund application can be submitted via a representative. In such cases, power of attorney should be submitted together with the application as well. If the power of attorney is not in the Lithuanian or English language, the translation should be provided. The power of attorney has either to bear an apostille or be legalized if it is issued outside the EU.
• The VAT refund application must contain information about goods and services bought in Lithuania and described by purchase goods and services codes. General codes are indicated in EU Directive 2008/9/EC. However, Lithuania has chosen to require some, but not all detailed codes in the Regulation (EU) No.79/2012.
Non-EU businesses. For businesses established outside the EU, refunds are made under the terms of the EU 13th Directive.
Lithuania applies the principle of reciprocity, meaning the country where the claimant is established must also provide VAT refunds to Lithuanian businesses. Lithuanian VAT is only refunded on the condition of reciprocity to taxable persons of Armenia, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, United Kingdom (UK) and Türkiye. The list of non-EU countries where established taxable persons can claim refunds of VAT paid in Lithuania is not final and may be adjusted, considering the practice of other countries in refunding VAT to the Lithuanian taxable persons.
Foreign taxable persons established in countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but that do not have a VAT (or an identical tax) are entitled to apply for a VAT refund and claim the VAT paid in the Republic of Lithuania. Currently, this provision applies only to the taxable persons established in the United States. To claim a refund, a non-established business must satisfy both of the following conditions:
• It must not have a business establishment in Lithuania through which activities are performed (or if the claimant is an individual, he or she must not be a permanent resident in Lithuania).
• It must not make taxable supplies of goods or services in Lithuania.
However, if the claimant supplies international transport services or sells goods that are taxed through the application of the reverse-charge mechanism, also if the claimant performs the economic activities subject to special taxation schemes, i.e., non-EU scheme, EU scheme and IOSS scheme, it may still apply for a VAT refund.
Find below specific rules for Lithuania:
• The deadline for submitting applications is 30 June following the claim year.
• The claim period cannot be any longer than one calendar year and no less than three calendar months of the same calendar year. The claim period can only be less than three calendar months, provided that these months are the last months of a calendar year.
• Documents can be submitted directly to Vilnius County State Tax Inspectorate, sent by post or using the online services via Mano VMI. However, to use online services, a person has to be an authorized user or to have a Lithuanian tax representative. If documents are sent by post, the application may be sent to the following address:
Vilniaus Apskrities Valstybinė Mokesčių Inspekcija
Ulonų g. 2, LT-01509 Vilnius
Lithuania
Foreign currency invoices. If an invoice is issued in a foreign currency, the VAT amount must be converted to the domestic currency, which is the euro (EUR), and noted in EUR on the invoice.
Supplies to nontaxable persons. Taxable persons must issue VAT invoices for supplies made to nontaxable persons, except for exceptions outlined in the local legislation. The exceptions do not apply to the supply of a new vehicle to another EU Member State. The exceptions are:
• The supply of goods (services) when a cash register receipt is issued or the use of a cash register is not required (e.g., public transport tickets, lottery tickets, produce sold at international fairs and exhibitions lasting for up to 10 days, payments received by libraries and schools, sale of goods in outdoor markets)
• Insurance services where an insurance policy is issued
• Financial services, provided that an accounting document is issued in compliance with specific regulation
• Long-term services that are supplied during a continuous period (e.g., telecommunication services, utilities, cold and hot water supplies, electricity, heating energy and gas supplies), provided that an accounting document is issued in compliance with specific regulation
• The supply of goods (services) through vending machines that comply with specific legal and technical requirements
• Services and goods supplied that are related to the renovation of apartments as specified in legislation
• The supply of goods (services) under the special taxation scheme, i.e., EU scheme
• The supply of goods (services) under the special taxation schemes, i.e., non-EU scheme or IOSS scheme, provided that the invoice was issued in accordance with the invoicing rules of the country of the supplier of the goods (services)
If a cash register receipt is issued, the purchaser has the right to request a VAT invoice.
Distance selling. For intra-Community B2C distance sales, a full VAT invoice must be issued. However, if the supplier operates the OSS regime, then no full VAT invoice is required unless requested.
Records. Taxable persons must keep their accounts in such a way that the accounting information enables a correct determination of the taxable person’s obligations with respect to VAT. In Lithuania, examples of what records must be held for VAT purposes include registers of VAT invoices received and issued by them. Specific requirements apply for certain transactions (e.g., call-off stock transactions), also for taxable persons engaged in both taxable and exempt activities (partial deduction). This may include documents such as transportation document to support zerorated supplies, etc.
In Lithuania, VAT books and records can be held outside of the country. This is because it is not contradicting the existing regulations but, in this case, certain rules that are specified below are applied. Records may be held in or outside of Lithuania. Records can only be held outside of Lithuania for non-established businesses (e.g., taxable persons that are only VAT registered in Lithuania but have no physical presence). However, records held outside of Lithuania must be made available in a timely manner upon request by the tax authorities. For established taxable persons, the paper records should be explicitly kept in Lithuania. But if they are electronic, the taxable person may opt to keep them outside of Lithuania, as long as the tax authorities have proper and timely access to the documents and the taxable person informs the tax authorities in writing that the documents are stored outside of Lithuania.
Record retention period. Taxable persons must ensure that VAT invoices issued by them (or by customers or third parties on their behalf), as well as VAT invoices received by taxable persons established in Lithuania shall be retained for 10 years from the date of the issue.
When a taxable person facilitates trade via e-commerce marketplace/platform/portal or similar means, as it is regulated in the Article 54b of the Regulation No. 282/2011, for the supply of
For further detail, see the subsection Quick Fixes above.
Annual returns. Generally, a taxable person is obliged to provide an annual VAT return only in cases where its partial exemption recovery percentage has changed or when adjustments in the context of the capital goods scheme are necessary. Otherwise, annual returns are not required in Lithuania.
Supplementary filings. A taxable person that trades with other EU countries must complete statistical reports, known as Intrastat, and EU Sales Lists (ESLs). Taxable persons must begin to report services provided to taxable persons established in other EU countries if these services are subject to VAT in those EU countries.
Intrastat. For the year 2025 the thresholds are as follows:
• If the amount of intra-EU acquisitions within the previous 12 months exceeds EUR550,000, the Intrastat form shall be filed to the Territorial Customs Office.
• If the amount of intra-EU supplies within the previous 12 months exceeds EUR400,000, the Intrastat form shall be filed to the Territorial Customs Office.
Also, additional statistical information needs to be provided in the Intrastat return (box 13) if the value of intra-EU supplies exceeds EUR10 million or the value of intra-EU acquisitions exceeds EUR7 million.
The deadline for submission of the Intrastat return is the 10th working day after the end of the calendar month to which it relates.
Intrastat returns may be submitted both electronically and manually. Intrastat returns must be filed in EUR.
Effective from 1 January 2022, the description of commodity code is no longer mandatory in Intrastat reports. Also, country of origin, as well as the customer’s VAT number in the country of destination must be additionally indicated in the Intrastat report for dispatches. If the customer is not registered for VAT purposes in the country of destination or the VAT number is unknown, the “QV999999999999” code must be indicated instead.
EU Sales List. No threshold is applied. However, in cases where there are no transactions in a given period that would need to be reported, it is not required to submit a nil EU Sales List. EU Sales Lists can be submitted either manually or by electronic means.
Electronic VAT ledgers (i.SAF). Taxable persons registered for VAT must also submit monthly data on sales and purchases invoices to the Lithuanian tax authorities by electronic means (i.SAF data file) until the 20th of the month following the reporting period (see the Digital tax administration subsection below for more details).
Correcting errors in previous returns. Corrections of errors in previously filed VAT returns can be done by the taxable person by submitting an amended VAT return. The amended VAT return uses the same return form as the initial VAT return but must be marked as “amended.” The submission procedures are the same as for the initial VAT return.
In general, the taxable person must submit an amended VAT return of the taxable period when the error was made in the following instances:
• The error has resulted in a tax underpayment in the previous taxable period
• The error relates to the intra-EU supply or acquisition of goods
• The error relates to the import of goods
Other errors (for example, overpayment of VAT for a local supply) may be corrected in the VAT return of the taxable period when such errors became known to the taxable person.
All corrections or adjustments of VAT returns should be done by submitting the adjusted VAT return electronically.
Filing amended returns voluntarily does not result in penalties for the taxes unpaid. However, the taxable person shall be subject to late payment interest and might still be imposed with a fine based on the Lithuanian Code of Administrative Offenses.
Digital tax administration. Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T). SAF-T contains the data about the taxable person’s economic activity extracted from its accounting system. SAF-T is one of eight integrated elements of intelligent tax administration systems called i.MAS, implemented to automate the tax data collection and analysis processes while helping to support the tax authorities during their tax audits and other tax administration functions.
SAF-T file must be filed on request of the respective authorities (including tax authorities). SAF-T is compulsory only for the Lithuanian companies, when a company’s net sales revenue exceeds EUR300,000 in the year before the preceding year.
SAF-T is not compulsory for foreign taxable persons registered for VAT in Lithuania, also for branches and representative offices of foreign taxable persons, permanent establishments, public sector entities and other nonprofit legal entities.
Establishing the accounting registers, the entities obliged or wishing to submit SAF-T shall follow the technical specification of SAF-T and the technical requirements. SAF-T is formed in XML (extensible markup language) format.
SAF-T consists of four parts:
• Header (basic information about the entity)
• Master data file (general ledger accounts, information about customers, suppliers, assets, owners, physical stock, products, etc.)
• GL entries
• Data of the initial documents (information about sales invoices, purchase invoices, payments, movement of goods and asset transactions)
Taxable persons may be imposed with penalties for failing to submit the SAF-T file upon the request of the authorities.
Electronic VAT ledgers (i.SAF). Taxable persons registered for VAT must submit monthly data on sales and purchases invoices to the Lithuanian tax authorities by electronic means (i.SAF). The i.SAF data include detailed information (e.g., general information about the legal person, taxable period, taxable amount, tax point, invoice number, information about suppliers, customers) about all performed and received supplies.
The i.SAF data may be submitted electronically as an XML data file in the tax authorities’ integrated tax administration system or i.SAF data may be filed on the website. The i.SAF data shall be submitted by the 20th day of the month following the reporting period.
Note that the i.SAF and SAF-T are different reporting requirements. The i.SAF is for invoice registers, whereas SAF-T contains a significant amount of data registered in the ERP of the taxable person (including the invoice data). i.SAF is filed on a monthly basis, whereas SAF-T is on an on-demand basis (requested from the tax authorities and other government bodies, such as the one responsible for financial crime investigation), depending on the annual sales revenue. SAF-T contains much more information.
Transport data reporting (i.VAZ). The i.VAZ contains online data on transport documents. The i.VAZ system shall only be applied for goods that are loaded and carried by road transport within the territory of Lithuania. The transport document data has to be reported to the i.VAZ subsystem before the dispatch occurs.
• When the aim is to prove bad debts and efforts to recover those debts pursuant to Article 891 of the Lithuanian VAT law, calculating or recalculating VAT for a period longer than the standard time limit is possible only as far as it is related to the circumstance referred to in this point
• When the tax is calculated or recalculated after the court has found that taxable person’s bankruptcy is intentional
• When deduction of noncurrent assets other than immovable property is done. In this case, calculating or recalculating tax for a period that is longer than the standard time limit is possible only as far as it is related to the circumstance referred to in this point.
A limitation period for the current and the 10 preceding calendar years shall apply to the calculation and/or recalculation of VAT in the following cases:
• When it is necessary to determine damages caused to the state in the criminal case, and when limitation periods set out in the Lithuanian Criminal Code have not expired for handing down a conviction
• When deduction of immovable property recognized as noncurrent assets is done. In this case, calculating or recalculating VAT for a period that is longer than the standard time limit is possible only as far as it is related to the circumstance referred to in this point