Invoices in Lithuania: requirements and how to issue one

An invoice in Lithuania is the accounting document with which a seller confirms that goods were sold or services supplied. A VAT payer issues a VAT invoice; a company that is not a VAT payer issues an ordinary invoice without VAT.

In both cases the document must carry everything the legislation lists: the date, a series and number, the seller, the buyer, the goods or service, the price and the amount, and on a VAT invoice also the VAT identification numbers, the rate and the VAT amount.

A note on terms. The ordinary invoice is the sąskaita faktūra and the VAT invoice is the PVM sąskaita faktūra (PVM is VAT). The VAT identification number is the PVM mokėtojo kodas and the legal entity code is the juridinio asmens kodas. "The Rules" means the rules approved by Government Resolution No. 780.

Example of a Lithuanian VAT invoice

The example is invented: the company names, the codes and the transaction are made up, and the codes are written so that they do not look real. The seller is a VAT payer, so the document is a VAT invoice.

When an invoice has several lines, VAT is calculated on the summed taxable amount of the lines taxed at the same rate, not line by line. Maintenance was supplied throughout the month, so the September invoice was issued on 7 October, that is, by the 10th day of the following month.

A bank account and a payment date are worth adding so the buyer knows where and by when to pay, but they are not in the lists of required information below: they are a matter of agreement between the parties.

You can fill in a document like this in the free invoice tool. It needs no registration, the draft stays in your browser, and the tool shows which required information is still missing.

Invoice or VAT invoice: what is the difference

In the ordinary case the difference depends on whether the seller is a VAT payer, not on the buyer or the amount.

Under Article 71(2) of the Law on VAT, a Lithuanian taxable person may apply the small business scheme, that is, need not register as a VAT payer or calculate VAT, if the consideration for goods and services supplied in Lithuania in the course of economic activity did not exceed EUR 45,000 in the previous calendar year and is not expected to exceed that limit in the current one.

Article 79(1) places no duty on such a person to issue a VAT invoice, unless they have registered as a VAT payer under Article 71¹. Discuss with an accountant whether this applies to you. More: information required on a VAT invoice and an invoice without VAT.

Who must issue an invoice in Lithuania, and when

• VAT payers. Under Article 79(1) of the Law on VAT, a supply to another taxable person or to a legal person must be recorded with a VAT invoice. Under Article 79(3), Lithuanian VAT payers also issue one for supplies made in Lithuania to natural persons who are not taxable persons, except in cases set by the Government. One of them is when such a buyer is given a cash register receipt (point 19.1 of the Rules).
• Entities that are not VAT payers, other than natural persons. Point 3 of the Rules obliges them to record a sale with an ordinary invoice. It may be omitted when the buyer is a natural person carrying out no economic activity and is given a cash register receipt, or when a cash register is not required. If that buyer demands an invoice, one is issued (point 28).
• Natural persons carrying out economic activity who are not VAT payers. Point 8¹ of the Rules says they "may" record a sale with an invoice, and point 27 says the requirements for other documents issued by residents carrying out individual activity are set in the legislation governing their own accounting. We do not cover that legislation here; see the guides on individual activity (individuali veikla) and the business certificate (verslo liudijimas).

On timing: a VAT invoice is issued immediately after the goods or services are supplied. For long-term services such as rent or telecommunications, it may cover the whole month and be issued by the 10th day of the following month (Article 79(2)(1)).

For goods supplied to another EU member state, or services on which the buyer must account for the VAT, the deadline is the 15th day of the following month (point 2).

For other accounting documents, Article 6(1) of the Law on Financial Accounting says they are prepared during or after the transaction and given to the recipient immediately, no later than the 10th day of the following month.

Lithuania invoice requirements when the seller is not a VAT payer

This list comes from Article 7(1) of the Law on Financial Accounting and points 5 and 6 of the Rules. It is for companies and other entities that are not VAT payers; as noted, the Rules apply differently to residents carrying out individual activity.

• The title of the document.
• A series and number. Numbers run in ascending order and do not repeat within a series.
• The date the document was prepared.
• The seller's name, or first name and surname, and legal entity code.
• The buyer's name, or first name and surname, and legal entity code. For a natural person: their VAT identification number or, if they have none, at their choice their personal code, individual activity certificate number or business certificate number.
• The name of the goods or service, that is, the content of the transaction.
• The price of the goods or service.
• The amount and, where a quantity is given, the units of measure.
• The date or period of the transaction, if it differs from the document date.
• Where payment is in cash and the amount payable is rounded: the rounding amount and the total payable after rounding.

If the buyer is a natural person carrying out no economic activity, their name and personal code are written only at their request. See invoice to a private person.

Required information on a Lithuanian VAT invoice

These are points 1 to 13 of Article 80(1) of the Law on VAT, needed for an ordinary sale.

• The date of issue.
• A series and number that identify the document.
• The seller's VAT identification number.
• The buyer's VAT identification number. When a Lithuanian taxable person sells in Lithuania, the number of a buyer registered for VAT is always shown.
• The seller's name, or first name and surname, and address.
• The buyer's name, or first name and surname, and address.
• The name and quantity of the goods or services.
• The date of supply, if it differs from the date of issue.
• The unit price excluding VAT, and any discounts not included in it.
• The taxable amount of goods or services taxed at the same rate, a separate amount for each rate.
• The VAT rate.
• The VAT amount in euros.
• Where the supply is exempt or taxed at 0%: a reference to the relevant provision of the Law on VAT or of Directive 2006/112/EC, or any other indication that no VAT is charged or the 0% rate applies.

Points 14 to 19 set the wording required in rarer cases, such as „Atvirkštinis apmokestinimas“ (reverse charge) or the margin scheme labels. Our tool does not cover them. The standard rate is 21% (Article 2(32)) and the reduced rates are 12% and 5%; Article 19 lists what they apply to.

How to issue an invoice: seven steps

1. Decide which document you are writing: a VAT invoice if you are a VAT payer, an ordinary invoice if you are not.
2. Give it a series and the next number in order. See invoice numbering.
3. Write the date of issue and, if the supply took place on another day, that date or period.
4. Enter the seller's and buyer's details from the relevant list. Check the codes before sending: without the seller's code and the buyer's name and code, the buyer cannot recognise the expense (point 2.7 of the resolution).
5. Describe each item: name, quantity, unit of measure, price.
6. Work out the amounts. On a VAT invoice the taxable amount and VAT amount are shown separately for each rate.
7. Give the document to the buyer and enter it in your records of issued invoices (point 7 of the Rules) or, if you are a VAT payer, in the register of issued VAT invoices (Article 78(5) of the Law on VAT). A paper document has at least two copies, one for each party. An electronic VAT invoice may be used only with the buyer's prior consent (Article 79(11)); the same holds for an electronic ordinary invoice (point 6¹ of the Rules).

If you find a mistake in an issued document, do not correct it. Article 7(5) of the Law on Financial Accounting forbids correcting accounting documents that support transactions carried out in money: a new document is prepared, and the faulty one is treated as void and kept with the other documents of that period.

When the price or quantity changes after issue, a discount is granted or goods are returned, the person who issued the VAT invoice issues a credit note; by agreement, a buyer who is a VAT payer may issue a debit note instead (Article 83(1) of the Law on VAT).

If the sale was not recorded with a VAT invoice, the change is recorded with a credit note that is an ordinary accounting document (point 29¹ of the Rules). See credit and debit notes.

How long to keep invoices

Article 78(7) of the Law on VAT says that VAT invoices recording a supply made in Lithuania, and VAT invoices received by taxable persons established in Lithuania, are kept for 10 years from the date of issue. Throughout that time the authenticity of their origin and the integrity of their content must be preserved, and they must remain legible.

For other accounting documents, Article 10 of the Law on Financial Accounting gives no specific period: they are kept in the manner set by the head of the entity, following the Law on Documents and Archives. Confirm the exact period for your case with an accountant.

Other guides on this subject

• Proforma invoice: how it differs from an invoice.
• Invoice payment terms: how to state them on the document.
• Invoice in English for a foreign company.

Once you know which document you are writing, open the invoice tool, fill in the fields and save a PDF through the browser's print window. The tool is not accounting software: it keeps no invoice register and sends nothing to the State Tax Inspectorate.