Invoice payment terms in Lithuania: what the law says

A payment due date is not required information on a Lithuanian invoice. It appears in none of the three lists that govern invoice content: Article 80 of the Law on VAT, Article 7 of the Law on Financial Accounting, and the Rules approved by Government Resolution No. 780. The term is whatever you and the buyer agree.

If a contract between economic entities sets no payment date, the Law on the Prevention of Late Payment in Commercial Transactions allows interest to run once 30 calendar days have passed from the day the buyer received the invoice. The rules are the same for the VAT invoice (PVM sąskaita faktūra) and for the ordinary invoice without VAT (sąskaita faktūra).

It is still worth writing the term on the invoice: a clear date tells both sides when it becomes overdue.

Example: how the term looks on an invoice

The parties, codes and amounts below are invented. An invoice issued by a VAT payer would contain these lines:

You can prepare a document like this with our free invoice tool. Its "Payment due" field is marked as optional; a date you enter appears on the document. The required items are explained in the guide to the VAT invoice.

Is a payment due date required on a Lithuanian invoice?

No. None of the texts that set the required information includes a payment term.

• The VAT invoice. Article 80(1) of the Law on VAT lists the date of issue, the series and number, the details of the parties, the goods or services, the price, the taxable amount, the rate, the amount of VAT and further items for particular cases. The payment date is not among them.
• The invoice issued by a non-VAT payer. Article 7(1) of the Law on Financial Accounting requires the entity that carried out the transaction, the date of the document, the content of the transaction, its result, the name of the document and the recipient. Points 5 and 6 of the Rules approved by Government Resolution No. 780 add the buyer's details, the name of the goods or services, the price, and the series and number. The term is not there either.

So an invoice without a due date lacks no required item. The term comes from the agreement; the invoice repeats it for clarity. See also the main guide to invoices in Lithuania.

What payment term applies by law?

No single payment term applies to every invoice. Payment between businesses is governed by the Law on the Prevention of Late Payment in Commercial Transactions. It defines the economic entity (ūkio subjektas) as a person who "in accordance with the procedure laid down by law engages in economic, commercial or professional activity".

The quotations here are our translations of the Lithuanian text. Below, "the day of supply" means the day the goods were received, the services provided or the work performed. The law provides:

What interest applies when an invoice is paid late?

When the payment period ends, the creditor is entitled to the interest set by the contract or the law "without a reminder to the debtor", provided the creditor has performed its own obligations and has not been paid on time, except where the debtor is not responsible for the delay (Article 3(1)).

If the contract sets no interest, the statutory rate applies: the interest rate of the European Central Bank's most recent main refinancing operation, increased by 8 percentage points (Article 2(5)). The rate used is that of the half-year in which the duty to pay interest arose: the rate in force on 1 January for the first half of the year and on 1 July for the second.

Interest is calculated "for each day of delay on the unpaid amount due" (Article 3(2)).

An example. According to European Central Bank data, the fixed rate for main refinancing operations on 1 July 2026 was 2.40%, so by our calculation the statutory rate for the second half of 2026 would be 10.40% a year (2.40 + 8). On an invoice of EUR 1,210.00 paid 20 days late, the interest would be about EUR 6.90 (1,210 × 10.40% × 20 / 365).

This is an estimate: the law does not say by how many days the annual rate is divided, so we assume 365. Check the exact calculation with an accountant or a lawyer.

Under Article 7(1), a creditor who has become entitled to interest is also entitled to EUR 40 from the debtor, without a reminder, as compensation for recovery costs.

Where this law does not apply and the contract sets no interest, Article 6.210 of the Civil Code provides for interest of five per cent a year, or six per cent where both parties are businesspeople or private legal persons, unless a law or the contract sets a different rate.

Does the payment term on a VAT invoice change the VAT?

There is no separate payment term for the VAT invoice. The late-payment law speaks of "the invoice or an equivalent document" and sets no different term for it, so the rules are the same as for an invoice without VAT.

How to write the payment term on the invoice

The legal texts prescribe no wording, so what matters is that it cannot be read in two ways.

• Write a specific date. "Payment due 2026-10-21" leaves no doubt. If you write "within 14 days", say from when: the issue of the invoice or its receipt.
• Say where the term was agreed. A short reference to the contract, order or accepted offer is enough. Agree the term before you start work; the invoice only repeats it.
• Add the payment details: the bank account number and the payment reference you ask for.
• Mention a late-payment penalty only if one was really agreed. Under Article 6.71 of the Civil Code a fine and default interest (delspinigiai) are contractual penalties, and Article 6.72 requires an agreement on penalties to be in writing.

If you want to be paid before you provide the service, use a proforma invoice.

A polite payment reminder: an example

An invoice may simply have been forgotten, so keep the first reminder short and free of reproach. Give the invoice number, the amount and the due date, and attach the invoice again.

Note the day you sent the reminder. If you get no reply, discuss the next steps with a lawyer: this guide gives no advice on debt recovery.

What to do today

Check that you have a payment term agreed in writing with each regular buyer, and write it on every invoice. The invoice tool is free, needs no registration, keeps the draft in your browser and shows any missing required information before you print. It is not accounting software and keeps no register of invoices, so you track the due dates yourself.