When foreign taxable persons are required to register as taxpayers for VAT purposes in Lithuania

Foreign taxable persons are required to register as taxpayers for VAT purposes in Lithuania in the following cases:

  • when supplying goods and/or services subject to VAT in Lithuania (including when the goods are supplied from Lithuania or transferred from Lithuania to another Member State of the EU for business purposes), except for certain cases provided for in Republic of Lithuania Law on Value Added Tax (hereinafter referred to as “Law on VAT”);
  • when purchasing goods in Lithuania (excluding new vehicles and excise goods) from VAT payers or persons liable for VAT in another Member State of the EU, the value of which (excluding VAT paid or payable in the Member State of the EU from which the goods were imported) exceeded EUR 14,000 in the previous calendar year, or is expected to exceed EUR 14,000 in the current calendar year. However, if  foreign taxable persons carry out economic activities for which they are entitled to recover (deduct) the input VAT paid in Lithuania on the goods and/or services purchased, then such foreign taxable persons are not subject to the threshold of EUR 14,000 for the purpose of registering as a VAT payer;
  • when foreign taxable persons carry out intra-EU distance sales of goods and/or services of telecommunications, radio, television broadcasting and services supplied by electronic means with the total value thereof exceeding EUR 10,000 in the preceding or current calendar year, unless the foreign taxable person is a registered member of the OSS system, and the VAT liability on those goods and/or services is settled through the OSS system. In case of distance supply of new vehicles, there is no obligation to register for VAT purposes in Lithuania, while in case of distance supply of excise goods, the obligation to register for VAT purposes in Lithuania arises from the first euro.

Foreign taxable persons are required to register as taxpayers for VAT purposes in Lithuania when the supply of goods and/or services is subject to at a 0% VAT rate in the following cases:

  • the goods are supplied to VAT payers in another Member State of the EU (Article 49 of Law on VAT);
  • the goods are supplied to third countries (Article 41 of Law on VAT);
  • the goods are placed in temporary storage (Article 53(1)(1) of Law on VAT);
  • the goods are placed in a free zone under customs control, or placed under inward processing or under customs warehousing (Article 53(1)(2) of Law on VAT);
  • the goods are transported to a duty-free warehouse (Article 53 (1)(5) of Law on VAT);
  • the goods are subject to a duty-free warehousing arrangement during the supply (Article 53(1)(6) of Law on VAT);
  • a disclosed agent is acting as an intermediary in the transaction for the supply of goods referred to in Article 53(1) of Law on VAT (Article 53(5) of Law on VAT);
  • the goods supplied are directly related to the goods referred to in Article 53(1)(3),(4),(6) of Law on VAT (Article 53(6) of Law on VAT);
  • the goods are placed under customs warehousing, and the obligation to calculate import VAT on such goods arises (Article 53(10) of Law on VAT).