Lithuania VAT Information: rates, registration number

VAT Standard rate

The standard VAT rate in Lithuania in 2023 is 21%.

VAT Reduced rate

9% is applicable for the:

Heat energy is supplied for housing heating and for hot water is supplied for housing;
Books and not periodical informational publications;
Passenger transportation services by regular routes as well as transportation of passenger luggage;
Accommodation services;
Hospitality services;
Sporting services;
Cultural services;
Firewood or wood products.

5% is applicable for the:

Technical aids for disabled persons and for the repair of these technical aids;
Supply of pharmaceuticals and medical aids to persons who have the right to the total or partial reimbursement of the acquisition expenses of these goods in accordance with the Law on Health Insurance;
Newspapers, magazines, and periodical publications.

See the summary of the EU VAT rates.

Thresholds

From the 1st of July 2021, the distance selling thresholds were withdrawn and replaced by a unified threshold of €10,000 for all EU members.

In other words, VAT should be charged at the VAT rate of the customer’s country of residence by companies whose annual taxable cross-border turnover is over €10,000.

Deductible VAT

If goods or services were used to make taxable supplies in Lithuania, VAT in input invoices might be credited. For example:

VAT paid at custom clearance with your EORI number;
VAT paid to Lithuanian suppliers.

If you paid invoices before VAT registration you may deduct them after your registration.

Registration procedure

For VAT registration, the company will be required to complete and submit a VAT registration form, along with supporting documentation (with translation into Lithuanian language by authorizing translator and with an apostille):

Certificate of incorporation;
Trade register extract;
VAT certificate;
Articles of Association (the main points);
Passport of Director.

If the company is appointing a local tax agent or Fiscal Representative, then a Letter of Authority or Power of Attorney is.

Tax representative

A foreign taxable person must be identified for VAT purposes through a subdivision within the territory of the country and where there is no such subdivision, through an appointed fiscal representative in the Republic of Lithuania. The requirement to appoint a fiscal representative shall not apply to taxable persons established in other Member States who may be identified for VAT purposes directly.

Other peculiarities

From the 1st January 2018, taxable persons established in the countries which are members of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), in which there is no VAT (or a tax identical to it) are entitled to apply for VAT paid in Lithuania refund. However, this provision applies for VAT paid on purchases from 1st January 2018.

VAT payment date

The dates for VAT payment are as follows:

January by 25 February (preliminary VAT return);
2019 by 01 October 2020 (annual VAT return).

Filing VAT returns

A taxpayer must transmit tax returns only submitted electronically via the Electronic Declaration (EDS) system. LOVAT platform supports digital submission.

The period for submitting preliminary VAT returns is generally the calendar month. If the Annual taxable turnover (net) for the previous calendar year is up to €300,000, the business owner shall be entitled to file an application with the tax administrator to regard a calendar quarter as the tax period.

The business owner also can choose another tax period, namely, such a period may not be longer than 60 days.

The dates for filing tax returns are as follows:

January – by 25 February;
February – by 25 March.

Annual VAT returns – by 01 October.

At the Lovat portal, you can see your deadlines.

Standard VAT rate

The standard VAT rate in Lithuania in 2023 is 21%.

Reduced rate

A reduced 5% VAT rate is applicable for electronic newspapers, magazines, and other periodical publications.

Thresholds

EU-based companies can use the rules for low annual turnovers. Then the threshold is €10,000.

Non-EU companies cannot benefit from the intra-EU threshold. They are obliged to register from the first sale, so the threshold for them is zero. Such businesses may register for non-Union OSS instead of registration in Lithuania.

Taxable persons in the Republic of Lithuania are allowed not to register as VAT payers if their turnover from the sales of goods and/or services during the last 12 calendar months does not exceed €45,000.

Pieces of evidence

The list of criteria for determining the buyer’s location is the same for the entire European Union:

Customer’s permanent address;
Billing address (bank or electronic payment operator);
Internet Protocol (IP) address;
Telephone number;
The location of the customer’s fixed landline through which the service is supplied to him;
Other commercially relevant information.

And if two of them are in Lithuania, then the customer can be identified as a Lithuanian.

E-services list

The legislation establishes that any product that is stored, delivered, and used in electronic format is considered a digital product. A customer can receive these goods or services by e-mail by downloading them from the Internet or logging into a website. In particular, the law names the following as digital services:

Electronic books, images, movies, and videos, whether buying a copy from Shopify or using a service (for example Amazon Prime). In tax materials, these products are referred to as “Audio, visual or audiovisual products”;
Downloadable and streaming music, whether buying an MP3 or using music services;
Cloud-based software and as-a-Service products (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS);
Websites, site hosting services, and Internet service providers;
Online ads and affiliate marketing.

Registration procedure

To register, you need to fill out a registration application. To do this, you will need to fill out the following information about the company in the special application form:

Full information about the company;
Company’s name, a trading name of the company (If applicable), full postal address, email address and website of the taxable person, name and phone number of the contact person;
National tax number (If applicable);
Country in which the taxable person has his place of business;
International bank account number or OBAN number and BIC;
An electronic declaration that the taxable person is not registered for VAT within the Union;
Date of commencement of using the scheme.

If the documents are in a language other than the official Lithuanian, they must be supported by a translation, signed and sealed by the translator.

Tax representative

To register and file VAT returns in Lithuania, you do not need a tax representative, which makes this country attractive for the development of digital services.

Keeping records

It is necessary to keep the documents for 10 years – the tax authorities have the right to request them.

Filling VAT returns and payment date

The standard reporting period in Lithuania is a month. Taxpayers must submit a return and pay the tax within 25 days after the end of the reporting period.

The May declaration must be submitted no later than June 25.

The deadlines for VAT payment are the same as the deadlines for filing VAT returns.