Lithuania
Table of Statutes
This
is a non-exhaustive list of the main Lithuanian
statutes affecting taxation. The statutes are listed in alphabetical order – click on the statute for a fuller description of the statute, the legal regime it forms part of, or in some cases the text of the law.
The
Law on the Fundamentals of Free Zones
The Enterprise Register Law 1990
The Corporate Income Tax Law 2001
The Excise Tax Law 2001
The Gambling Taxation Law 2001
The Law on Value Added Tax 2002
The Law on Personal Income Tax 2002
The Tax Administration Law 2004
The Real Estate Tax Law 2005
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Lithuania
Law on Free Zones
Extracts
from the law:
Article 1. General Part
The Law establishes the procedure and terms
and conditions of the establishment, operation
and liquidation of free economic zones in the
Republic of Lithuania as well as the legal status
of the economic entities operating in the free
economic zone. The purpose of the Law is to
create in the free economic zone favourable
taxation, customs duties, currency and financial,
legal and other preferential conditions of economic-commercial
activities for the establishment within them
by foreign and local economic entities of enterprises
and organisations of international trade, production
and export, which develop and introduce technical-scientific
progress, as well as to stimulate foreign investments
and create new jobs.
Article 2. Free Economic Zone
1. Free economic zone (hereinafter referred
to as “zone”) means a territory designated
for the purpose of economic-commercial and financial
activities within which economic entities are
provided with special economic and legal conditions
of operation as established by this Law. The
territory must have no permanent residents.
2. The goods within the zone shall be considered
as being outside the customs territory of the
Republic of Lithuania with respect to import
and export duties and charges, as well as other
prohibitions and restrictions of economic character.
Article 3. Types of Activities of Free Economic
Zones
1. Commercial, production and export, business,
banking or other activities may be developed
in a zone established in the Republic of Lithuania.
The types of activities shall be determined
by a separate law on the establishment of a
specific zone.
2. Scientific-technological parks may be established
in the Republic of Lithuania. The parks shall
be established with the purpose of creating
favourable conditions for foreign and national
production enterprises to carry out scientific
research, tests and construction work, which
would be performed by local skilled workers,
as well as to develop the export of technologically
qualified and competitive products.
…
Article 7. The Zone Enterprise
1. The zone enterprise shall be an enterprise
of any form and type of ownership situated within
the zone and registered by the zone administration
company in accordance with the requirements
of the Law on the Register of Enterprises of
the Republic of Lithuania, to which the terms
and conditions of activities established by
this Law and state guarantees for its activities
within the zone shall apply.
2. The procedure for establishing zone enterprises
shall be established by the statute of the zone.
3. The zone enterprise shall operate in compliance
with this Law, the statute of the zone, its
bylaws and the founding documents, as well as
the agreement with the zone administration
company concerning the terms and conditions
of activities in the zone.
4. The economic-commercial activities specified
in the founding documents, to which restrictions
imposed by the Law on Enterprises of the Republic
of Lithuania and laws on the appropriate types
of enterprises shall not apply, shall be permitted
in the zone. Retail trade shall be permitted
only to
the extent it serves to satisfy the internal
needs of the zone.
5. An economic entity which wishes to be registered
in the zone shall submit an application and
other documents provided for by the Law on the
Register of Enterprises and the statute of the
zone to the zone administration company.
6. A decision concerning the registration of
an economic entity shall be adopted by the zone
administration company.
7. All enterprises of the zone shall be registered
by the zone administration company in accordance
with the enterprise registration procedure established
by the laws of the Republic of
Lithuania. The zone administration company shall
issue a registered enterprise with a certificate
in the form established in Lithuania. The zone
administration company shall inform the Chief
Registrar of the Register of the Republic of
Lithuania and the state institution authorised
to conduct state supervision of free economic
zones of the enterprises registered in a month
by the 10th day of the next month.
…
CHAPTER 4:
TAXES, CUSTOMS DUTIES, CURRENCY AND FINANCIAL
CONDITIONS
IN FREE ECONOMIC ZONES
Article 15. Taxes in the Zone
1. The enterprises registered in the zone and
their employees shall pay the following taxes
and charges: tax on profits of legal persons;
income tax of natural persons; land lease tax;
pollution tax and tax on the use of natural
resources; and state compulsory insurance contributions.
2. Enterprises registered and operating in the
zone which are engaged in production activities
shall pay land lease tax at a reduced rate of
50%.
3. If a foreign investor (investors) acquires
at least 30% of the authorised (ownership) capital
of an enterprise which is registered and operating
in the zone and invests capital of foreign origin
in the amount of no less than USD2 million,
the enterprise shall be exempt from profit (income)
tax for three years after the enterprise begins
to receive profit. For the next three years the
enterprise shall pay profit (income) tax at
a rate reduced by 50%.
In order to implement the right to preferential
taxation as provided for by this part, an enterprise
must present to the Tax Inspectorate documents
determined by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania which confirm the origin of foreign
capital and investment thereof, and the findings
of an independent audit concerning the foreign
capital investment.
4. The share of the enterprise's profit used for
the acquisition of required fixed assets, for
the carrying out of research and for the introduction
of new technology, as well as for investment
in the zone, shall not be included in the taxable
profit.
5. VAT shall not be calculated and shall not
be paid into the state budget.
6. Dividends received by foreign investors in
the free economic zone shall be exempt from
taxation.
7. Other tax privileges shall be applied in
accordance with the laws of the Republic of
Lithuania.
8. The zone administration company shall pay
taxes imposed on corresponding enterprises by
the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Land
tax collected from the zone enterprises shall
be paid by the zone administration company.
Article 16. Customs Privileges and Characteristics
of Customs Inspection Activity
1. Goods brought into the zone shall be considered
as being outside the customs territory of the
Republic of Lithuania with respect to import
duties and charges, as well as other prohibitions
and restrictions of economic character. When
goods are transported from the customs territory
of the
Republic of Lithuania into the zone, laws and
other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania
which regulate the exportation of goods abroad
as well as export duties and taxes levied on
the goods,
and other prohibitions and restrictions of economic
type, shall apply.
When goods are brought into the customs territory
of the Republic of Lithuania from the zone,
laws and other legal acts of the Republic of
Lithuania which regulate the importation of
goods from abroad as well as import duties and
taxes levied on the goods and other prohibitions
and restrictions of economic type shall apply.
Goods taken out of the zone abroad shall be
considered as being outside the customs territory
of the Republic of Lithuania with respect to
export duties and charges, as well as other
prohibitions and restrictions of economic character.
Foreign investors shall have the right to transfer
abroad without restrictions their lawfully received
income (profit). Foreign investors may take
out of the country their income (profit) or
a part thereof in goods purchased on the domestic
market or reinvest it in the economy of the
Republic of
Lithuania.
…
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