Lithuania

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Operating a Business in Lithuania

Setting up a company | Working conditions | Cost of labor | Social partners

Setting up a company

Legal business entities

Types of companies and capital (max/min)	Number of partners/shareholders and liability	Registration fees
Sole proprietorship (PI) No minimum capital.	Maximum 1 shareholder. Liability is unlimited.	Notarize the agreement /memorandum of incorporation and bylaws: LTL 500. Register at the Company Register, including registration with State Tax Inspectorate (the Lithuanian Revenue Authority) for corporate tax, VAT, and State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA): LTL 198. Obtain the official seal of the company: LTL 30-90.
Private limited liability company (UAB) EUR 2,900	1 to 249 shareholders Liability is limited.	Notarize the agreement /memorandum of incorporation and bylaws: LTL 500. Register at the Company Register, including registration with State Tax Inspectorate (the Lithuanian Revenue Authority) for corporate tax, VAT, and State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA): LTL 198. Obtain the official seal of the company: LTL 30-90.
Public limited liability company (AB) EUR 43,450	Minimum 1 shareholder, no maximum. Liability is limited.	Notarize the agreement /memorandum of incorporation and bylaws: LTL 500. Register at the Company Register, including registration with State Tax Inspectorate (the Lithuanian Revenue Authority) for corporate tax, VAT, and State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA): LTL 198. Obtain the official seal of the company: LTL 30-90.
General partnership (TUB). No minimum capital.	Minimum 2 shareholders. Maximum 20 shareholders. Liability is unlimited for all the partners.	Notarize the agreement /memorandum of incorporation and bylaws: LTL 500. Register at the Company Register, including registration with State Tax Inspectorate (the Lithuanian Revenue Authority) for corporate tax, VAT, and State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA): LTL 198. Obtain the official seal of the company: LTL 30-90.
Limited partnership (KUB). No minimum capital.	Minimum 2 shareholders. Maximum 20 shareholders. Liability is unlimited for 1 partner and limited for the others	Notarize the agreement /memorandum of incorporation and bylaws: LTL 500. Register at the Company Register, including registration with State Tax Inspectorate (the Lithuanian Revenue Authority) for corporate tax, VAT, and State Social Insurance Fund Board (SODRA): LTL 198. Obtain the official seal of the company: LTL 30-90.

Business setup procedures: For incorporation purposes, founders shall execute an agreement on establishment or an establishment act (in case of a sole proprietorship). The founders shall also approve the articles of association as well as fill in standard application forms to be provided to the Register of legal persons where the companies are registered. All above documents shall be duly approved by the Lithuanian notary public and afterwards provided to the Register of legal persons. Registration of a company takes 7 days after all the necessary documents have been executed and submitted to the Company Register.
The competent organization: The Company Register of Lithuania is the relevant organization to be contacted for formalities in setting up a business.

Working conditions

Legal weekly duration: 40 hours per week ; the daily number of hours should not exceed 8.
Retirement age: 60 for women and 62,5 for men.
Working contracts: The Lithuanian Labour Code provides for several types of contracts: employment contract concluded for an indefinite period of time ; fixed-term, temporary and seasonal contract, ; employment contract for additional work and secondary work ; employment contract with home-workers ; employment contract on the supply of services.
A fixed term contract can not exceed 5 years.

Cost of labor

Minimum wage: The general minimum monthly wage is 231 EUR.
Average wage: Average monthly gross earnings in Lithuania is LTL 2,240 (EUR 650).
Social contributions: Social security contributions paid by employers: 31%.
Social security contributions paid by employees: 3%.

Social partners

Social dialogue and involvement of social partners: The Trade Union members may not be less than one-fifth of all the employees in a company.
There are 3 main trade unions in Lithuania: the LPSK (Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation - LPSK), the Solidarumas and the LDF (Lithuanian Labour Federation - LDF), plus some independent trade unions.
Unions: Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation
Lithuanian Labour Federation
Unionization rate: About 14% of the active population. However, as Lithuanian legislation does not provide for obligatory registration of trade union membership, the exact number of employees represented is only an estimated figure.
Labor regulation bodies: Ministry of Social Security and Labor Protection

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