Setting up a business in Lithuania
19 November 2009by Ina Dimireva -- last modified 20 November 2009
An overview of the process of starting a new business in Lithuania.
Legal requirements
The Register manager ensures the implementation of registration formalities for the following: legal persons, their branch offices and representative offices; foreign legal persons, their branch offices and representative offices and other organizations (Objects of the Register), as specified in the Regulations of the Register of Legal Persons approved by the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 1407 of 12 November 2003 (Official Gazette, 2003, No. 107-4810).
The Ministry of Justice is the institution governing management of the Register, and the State Enterprise Centre of Registers is the institution which manages the Register.
The Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania is applied to civil legal relations.
Register of Legal persons [LT]
A notary verifies the validity of the data to be submitted to the Register manager, that incorporation documents comply with legal requirements and that the legal person, branch office or representative office, altered data and incorporation documents, branch office or representative office regulations, can be registered, by ensuring that obligations prescribed by law and deed of incorporation have been fulfilled and that circumstances specified by law or incorporation documents have occurred.
Documents and data about Objects of the Register are submitted to the Register manager by:
- the incorporators of the legal person under establishment;
- the managing body of the legal person, unless stated otherwise by law or by the incorporation documents of the legal person;
- the managing body of the foreign legal person's branch offices or representative offices and other organizations, unless stated otherwise by law or by the incorporation documents.
Registration of new private legal persons in the Register of Legal Persons (pursuant to legal forms of legal persons):
limited liability companies [LT]
private limited liability companies [LT]
cooperative companies (cooperatives) [LT]
limited partnerships and partnerships in commendam [LT]
credit unions and other credit institutions [LT]
European economic interest groups [LT]
European cooperative companies [LT]
Having received the documents specified in the Regulations of the Register of Legal Persons, the Register manager shall, within 5 working days, verify whether there are any obstacles preventing the Object of the Register from registering, verify incorporation documents and Register data, and make a positive decision on the registration of the Object of the Register, incorporation documents and Register data or shall notify the submitter of any ineligible documents and data, specifying a term in which to remedy any problems. If the problems are not remedied or the amended documents not submitted within the specified term, the Register manager shall refuse to register the Object of the Register, incorporation documents and Register data. When the legal person, branch office or representative office is registered, the Register manager shall issue the Registration Certificate in the form specified by the Ministry of Justice no later than the following working day.
Alongside smooth management of the documents required for setting up the company, any new business needs a sound commercial strategy and guaranteed finance.
Personalised help and advice
The Enterprise Europe Network provides businesses with information and advice through its local partners.
Enterprise Europe Network – contact points – Lithuania
SOLVIT helps businesses deal with problems that arise when national authorities wrongly apply EU market rules.
SOLVIT – contact points – Lithuania
Source: European Commission
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