Pro forma invoice in Lithuania: what it is, with an example

A pro forma invoice (išankstinė sąskaita in Lithuanian) is the seller's request to be paid before the goods are handed over or the service is provided. It is not an invoice: it does not document a supply of goods or services. The three Lithuanian texts we read for this guide do not contain the term, so its content is settled by practice.

The supply is documented separately, with an invoice (sąskaita faktūra) or a VAT invoice (PVM sąskaita faktūra).

Example of a pro forma invoice (template)

The example is invented. Vardenis Pavardenis is self-employed under an individual activity certificate (individualios veiklos pažyma), is not a VAT payer, and has agreed with UAB „Pavyzdys“ to build a website for EUR 600. He asks for half up front. The document, which you can use as a template, would contain these lines:

Once the service is provided, Vardenis can document it with an invoice for the full EUR 600.00 and note on it that EUR 300.00 has already been paid. You can fill in that invoice in our free invoice tool. The tool prepares the ordinary invoice and the VAT invoice; it has no pro forma title.

If the seller is a VAT payer

VAT payers usually show the net amount, the VAT and the total. Suppose the price is EUR 1,000.00 excluding VAT and the standard 21% rate applies:

This shows only the layout; whether the advance then needs a VAT invoice depends on the deal.

Is a pro forma invoice regulated by Lithuanian law?

On 7 October 2026 we read the consolidated versions of three texts in the Register of Legal Acts: the Law on Value Added Tax (the Law on VAT), the Law on Financial Accounting, and the Rules approved by Government Resolution No. 780. None contains the words "išankstinė sąskaita", "išankstinio apmokėjimo sąskaita" or "pro forma".

So these texts give no list of required information for it and oblige nobody to issue one: you can equally ask for an advance in the contract or by email. What this guide says about its content is practice. We did not check other legislation or the explanations of the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI).

How does a pro forma invoice differ from an invoice?

An invoice and a VAT invoice document a transaction that has taken place:

Article 2 of the Law on Financial Accounting defines an accounting document as textual information confirming an economic transaction, that is, an activity or event that changes the amount or structure of assets, liabilities, income and expenses, among other items. A pro forma only asks for payment.

Whether it supports anything in your accounts the law does not say directly, so ask your accountant.

A pro forma therefore does not replace an invoice; see Invoices in Lithuania: the requirements.

When does an advance received need a VAT invoice?

The Law on VAT mentions the advance but not the pro forma. Under Article 2(30), a VAT invoice documents a supply of goods or services and also the payment of an advance.

Article 14(4) calls an advance (avansas) the full or partial consideration paid before the goods are handed over or the service is provided, and describes two cases:

1. If, under the terms of the deal, the goods will be handed over or all the services provided no earlier than 12 months after the deal was concluded, the obligation to calculate VAT arises when the advance is received.
2. If that will happen sooner, the taxable person has the right to choose to treat the receipt of the advance as the tax point and to calculate VAT on it.

The same paragraph does not apply where the taxable amount is a margin.

So a pro forma is a request sent before payment, while a VAT invoice for an advance documents an advance already received and is described in the law. Ask your accountant which case fits your deal. See VAT invoice in Lithuania: required information.

The Rules approved by Resolution No. 780 mention an advance only in point 9, which concerns VAT invoices. They do not say how a non-VAT payer should document an advance received; that too is a question for an accountant.

What to write on a pro forma so it is not mistaken for an invoice

No list is mandatory; these are practical suggestions:

• A clear title. Write "Pro forma invoice" (in Lithuanian, "Išankstinė sąskaita"). Do not write "Invoice" or "VAT invoice".
• Separate numbering. Points 6 and 12 of the Rules approved by Resolution No. 780 require invoice and VAT invoice numbers to run in ascending sequence and never repeat. A separate marking for pro formas, such as "IS", keeps them out of the invoice sequence. See Invoice numbering in Lithuania.
• The rest as in the example. The parties and their codes, what is being paid for, the amount, the payment deadline (see Invoice payment terms in Lithuania) and a note that this is not an invoice.

Is "pro forma invoice" a legal term in Lithuania?

No. "Pro forma invoice" and "proforma invoice" are business usage, not terms from the legislation we read. For a buyer abroad the same suggestions apply, with a note such as "This pro forma invoice is a request for payment, not a VAT invoice". What the buyer's country or customs require is a question for the buyer or your accountant.

See Invoice in English for a foreign company.

What to do once the payment arrives

1. VAT payers check whether the advance has given rise to an obligation to calculate VAT; if so, its receipt is documented with a VAT invoice.
2. Hand over the goods or provide the service, then document the supply with an invoice or a VAT invoice.
3. Keep the paid pro forma with the documents of the deal, as is usual in practice. The texts we read contain no instruction to cancel it.

You can fill in the invoice or the VAT invoice free and without registration in the invoice tool: it shows which required information is missing and prints or saves a PDF through the browser's print window. It is not accounting software, keeps no register and sends nothing to the tax authority.