VAT Advice & Compliance in Lithuania

VAT in Lithuania is called PVM (pridėtinės vertės mokestis) and is administered by the State Tax Inspectorate, VMI (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija). VAT advice and compliance covers VAT registration in Lithuania (PVM mokėtojo registracija), the Lithuanian VAT number (PVM mokėtojo kodas, starting with LT), returns, refunds and disputes with VMI. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “VAT Service”. Searches for the Lithuanian VAT rate or a VAT number check are reference questions; a lawyer's work begins when a business has to decide whether, when and how to register and report.

Who it concerns

• Foreign companies selling goods or services to Lithuanian customers, keeping stock in a Lithuanian warehouse or running events in Lithuania.
• Online sellers using the EU One Stop Shop (OSS) for sales to consumers in several countries.
• Lithuanian companies and self-employed people whose turnover is nearing the registration threshold — see starting a business in Lithuania.
• Businesses that have received a VMI inquiry, an audit report or a tax assessment.

How it works

• Registration is filed with VMI electronically. As commonly described, a foreign business with taxable activity in Lithuania registers from its first taxable supply, without the threshold that applies to Lithuanian businesses, and a business from outside the EU generally acts through a tax representative, with exceptions.
• Reporting means periodic VAT returns (PVM deklaracija) and invoice data sent to the i.SAF register; many cross-border supplies fall under the reverse charge (atvirkštinis apmokestinimas).
• Refunds (PVM grąžinimas) of Lithuanian VAT to a business that is not registered follow the EU refund procedure or, for non-EU businesses, a separate claim.
• Disputes: a VMI decision can be challenged before the Tax Disputes Commission (Mokestinių ginčų komisija), a pre-trial body, and then in the administrative court. The deadlines are short.

Points to watch

• VAT rates and some reduced rates in Lithuania have changed recently; the figures are confirmed at the time of the transaction.
• A VAT number is not the same as a company code or a personal tax number.
• Late registration can mean VAT on past sales plus interest and fines.
• When a company closes, its VAT registration is ended as part of the closure.

What a lawyer does

The lawyer assesses whether and from when registration is needed, files it or acts as the business's contact with VMI under a power of attorney, reviews contracts and invoicing for the right VAT treatment, prepares refund claims, and represents the business in audits, before the Tax Disputes Commission and in court. Related topics are listed under tax services in Lithuania.

Questions and answers

Does a foreign company need a Lithuanian VAT number?

Usually only when it has VAT-taxable activity in Lithuania that the reverse charge or the OSS does not cover. A lawyer maps the flows of goods and services first.

What does a Lithuanian VAT number look like?

It starts with LT followed by digits and can be checked in the EU's public VAT number database. Getting one is part of registration, not a separate service.

Can a VMI decision be challenged?

Yes: first before the Tax Disputes Commission or VMI itself, depending on which unit decided, and then in court.

Can VAT on business costs in Lithuania be recovered?

Generally yes, through the Lithuanian VAT return of a registered business or through the refund procedure for one that is not registered.