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When you need a Latvian company that can sign a contract this week, a ready-made shelf company, a “gatava SIA” or pre-registered sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību, is the fastest legal route into one of the EU’s most innovative tax jurisdictions. ShelfCompanies24 maintains a live inventory of clean, never-traded Latvian SIA entities registered in Uzņēmumu reģistrs (UR, Enterprise Register), with paid-up pamatkapitāls, an active company register number and a clean VID (tax authority) record. Most transfers complete in 3 to 7 working days.
Latvia’s most distinctive feature is its distributed-profits-only CIT system, in force since 2018. Retained profits are taxed at 0% indefinitely; only distributed profits trigger CIT at 25% (effective rate). For shelf-company buyers planning to reinvest profits into growth, this Estonian-style regime is one of the most powerful tax structures in the EU.
Our service covers SIA, UR filing, UBO register.
Gatava SIA + virtual office + Latvian banking + grāmatvedības birojs bundled.
Most transfers within 3 to 5 working days. Latvian-speaking case manager.
Sign at any Latvian consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Riga attorney via pilnvara.
We draft the share-transfer agreement, file UR amendment and update the UBO register.
A Latvian shelf company, gatava SIA (“ready SIA”), is a pre-registered, never-traded SIA formed by a professional service provider purely for transfer. From incorporation to sale, the company has:
| Feature | SIA (Sabiedrība ar Ierobežotu Atbildību) | AS (Akciju Sabiedrība) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum pamatkapitāls | €2,800 (full SIA) or €1 (small SIA, capped) | €35,000 |
| Members (dalībnieki) | 1+, any nationality | 1+ akcionāri, registered shares |
| Governance | Valde (board) + dalībnieku sapulce | Padome + valde (dual-tier) |
| Best fit | ~95% of buyers | Listed groups |
Since 2018 Latvia operates a distributed-profits-only CIT regime: retained profits are taxed at 0% indefinitely, only distributions trigger 25% CIT (effective rate, 20/80 of net distribution). This makes Latvia one of the EU’s most attractive jurisdictions for capital reinvestment and growth-stage companies.
Latvia adopted the euro on 1 January 2014. Full SEPA participation, no FX risk against euro trade.
A new Latvian SIA takes 1 to 3 weeks via UR; a gatava SIA is already on the register and can invoice the day the share-transfer completes.
Every Latvian ready-made SIA carries an active reģistrācijas numurs and where pre-registered a PVN maksātāja numurs for VIES intra-Community trade.
Swedbank Latvia, SEB Latvia, Luminor Bank Latvia, Citadele Bank, Rietumu Banka, BlueOrange Bank all serve corporate clients. Note: Latvian banking sector restructured significantly post-2018 (after the ABLV closure); modern banking has tighter compliance but better integration with EU AMLD requirements.
Buying a ready-made company in Latvia is a share transfer, not a registration, which is why it is faster than forming one. You pick an entity from the live inventory, clear KYC, sign the kapitāla daļu pirkuma līgums, appoint your own valdes loceklis, amend the statūti for the nosaukums, juridiskā adrese and komercdarbības veids, and the Uzņēmumu reģistrs records you as the owner. UR processing takes 1 to 5 working days and most transfers complete in 3 to 7 working days end to end. The seven steps below show what happens at each stage.
Buyers outside the EU are the normal case rather than the exception. If you are based in the United States or the United Kingdom you can sign the share-transfer deed at a Latvian consulate, by eIDAS qualified electronic signature where you hold one, or by a notarised and apostilled pilnvara to our Riga attorney. Passport copies are apostilled at home. Because Latvian AML rules tightened after 2018, non-EU beneficial owners should expect enhanced KYC on both the transfer and the bank account, and we prepare that file in advance.
The practical case for taking over an existing SIA is that the register entry, the reģistrācijas numurs and the paid-up pamatkapitāls already exist. A new SIA takes 1 to 3 weeks through the UR; a gatava SIA can invoice on the day the share transfer completes. You give up the chance to design the company from scratch, but the nosaukums, the juridiskā adrese and the activity codes are all amended as part of the transfer anyway, so in practice the only thing you inherit is the incorporation date.
Live inventory: SIA entities of various ages registered in Riga (most), Liepāja, Daugavpils or Jelgava.
Apostilled passport copies, proof of address, business-purpose note. Latvian AML rules are notably strict post-2018; expect enhanced KYC for non-EU UBOs.
Latvian law requires that the share-transfer agreement be signed and either notarised or counter-signed by an attorney. We draft the bilingual Latvian-English deed.
The outgoing director is dismissed and your new valdes loceklis (board member) appointed by shareholder resolution.
Name (nosaukums), registered office (juridiskā adrese), business activity (komercdarbības veids with NACE codes) are amended.
Files submitted electronically via the UR portal at ur.gov.lv. Processing: 1 to 5 working days.
Beneficial owners filed in the UR’s UBO register within 14 days. Latvia historically had stricter UBO disclosure than many EU peers.
| Tax | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CIT on retained profits | 0% | No tax on profits kept inside the SIA, Estonian-style regime since 2018 |
| CIT on distributed profits | 25% (20/80 of net) | Only when profit is paid out to shareholders |
| VAT (PVN) | 21% standard, 12% / 5% / 0% reduced | Mandatory above €40,000 turnover; voluntary below |
| Withholding tax on outbound dividends | 0% | EU and most non-EU recipients (treaty network) |
A ready-made company in Latvia is a gatava SIA: a sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību registered in the Uzņēmumu reģistrs solely to be held in reserve and sold on. It has never invoiced, never employed anyone, never opened an operating account beyond the pamatkapitāls deposit and has filed only nil declarations with VID, so there are no tax losses and no trading history to inherit. You buy the kapitāla daļas, not a new registration.
3 to 7 working days from KYC to complete UR amendment.
€2,800 for a standard SIA (fully paid). Latvia also offers a “small SIA” (maza SIA) variant with €1 minimum, but with restrictions: maximum 5 individual-member shareholders, must allocate 25% of annual profits to a statutory reserve until €2,800 is reached.
Latvian SIAs pay zero corporate tax on profits they retain. Tax only triggers when profits are distributed (25% effective on net distribution). For growth-stage companies that reinvest earnings, this can mean a tax-free compounding period of years, substantially better than standard CIT regimes.
No. Sign at any Latvian consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Riga attorney via pilnvara.
0% on retained profits, 25% on distributed profits (effective rate). VAT 21% standard. Combined effective rate depends entirely on distribution policy.
Want today’s Latvian inventory? Contact our Latvian desk.
Latvia is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick Latvia for your SIA specifically? Estonian-style; 0% retained, 2026 SME 15%+6% option is the headline reason, but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you are weighing a structure decision against the actual operating profile of your business.
Cross-border corporate structuring in 2026 is governed by a tighter web of rules than in any previous decade. Three forces shape every decision:
For Latvia specifically: 0% on retained / 20% nominal (25% effective via taxable-base divided by 0.8) on distributed, Estonian model since 2018. New 2026 alternative: 15% CIT + 6% PIT for individual-shareholder companies.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in Latvia:
Yes. A name change is filed with the UR via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing, typically clears in 48 hours. We include up to one name change as standard for both shelf-company purchase and new formation.
Yes. A Latvian SIA that is tax resident in Latvia has the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive and the Interest and Royalties Directive available to it, and Latvia has effective double taxation treaties with 64 countries, a slightly smaller network than the page currently implies. Entitlement still turns on the principal purpose test written into the treaties by the OECD Multilateral Instrument, so the structure needs genuine substance and a commercial reason.
From a licensed corporate-service provider that holds the entities itself, which is what we do. Our Latvian inventory is made up of SIAs registered mostly in Riga, with some in Liepāja, Daugavpils and Jelgava, each with a documented dormancy record and a fresh UR extract. Ask the Latvian desk for the current list with incorporation dates, and we will confirm which entities suit your activity profile and your banking plans before anything is signed.
Some do and some do not. Every gatava SIA carries an active reģistrācijas numurs, which is also its tax identifier, but a PVN maksātāja numurs is only present where the entity was pre-registered for VAT. PVN registration is mandatory once turnover passes the €40,000 threshold and voluntary below it, and we arrange it as part of the transfer where your activity needs a VIES number for intra-Community trade.
Yes. There is no Latvian or EU residency, citizenship or work-permit requirement for the dalībnieki or the valdes loceklis of a SIA. You provide apostilled passport copies, proof of address and a business-purpose note, then sign the kapitāla daļu pirkuma līgums at a consulate, by eIDAS certificate or by pilnvara. Latvian AML rules are strict after the 2018 sector clean-up, so non-EU buyers should expect enhanced due diligence on source of funds.
Yes, provided the paper trail is clean. Banks look at whether the UR extract, the share register and the beneficial-owner filing all agree, and a documented, never-traded SIA with nil VID declarations is treated as lower risk than a company with an unexplained history. We file the UR amendment and the UBO update on the same day as the transfer, and we wait for the register amendment to complete before submitting the account application.
No, and you should not engage anyone who claims otherwise. The Latvijas Republikas Uzņēmumu reģistrs (UR) records the actual incorporation date, which is publicly searchable and immutable. The shelf SIAs we offer have honest incorporation dates ranging from a few months to several years old; for buyers who want a longer corporate trading history, we recommend purchase rather than fabrication, since fabricated history would expose you to fraud, tax-evasion, and money-laundering charges in any reputable jurisdiction.
Engaging us for your Latvian shelf SIA purchase covers the following deliverables under one service:
The deliverable scope is identical regardless of whether you are based in the EU, the US, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC, we operate the same service globally for Latvian corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are scoped separately, so the incorporation or transfer work stays exactly as agreed.
Different jurisdictions are stronger for different commercial activities. Latvia consistently performs well for international operators in:
None of these are exclusive, a Latvian SIA can engage in any lawful commercial activity, but choosing a jurisdiction where the activity has a deep operating ecosystem (talent pool, regulatory familiarity, banking and supplier networks) materially shortens the time from incorporation to first revenue. Tell us your activity profile and we will confirm whether Latvia is the right fit before we begin.
A Latvian SIA sits within the EU treaty framework, automatic access to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive (zero withholding on intra-EU dividends meeting the holding test), the Interest and Royalties Directive, and Latvia’s bilateral double-tax treaties with non-EU partners. The treaty network is shaped by the OECD Multilateral Instrument since 2017, which embedded a Principal Purpose Test (PPT) into existing treaties to deny benefits where a structure was set up primarily for tax advantage rather than genuine commercial purpose.
Common Latvian SIA patterns we see: EU-wide trading hub with VAT one-stop-shop, IP holding with treaty-protected royalty flows, regional headquarters serving CEE/Western EU subsidiaries, and licensing-and-distribution structures using EU passport rights. Each pattern has its own substance and transfer-pricing implications which your consultant will map before structuring.
The 2026 corporate-law and tax landscape in Latvia: 20% nominal / 25% effective on distributed headline corporate tax. 0% on retained / 20% nominal (25% effective via taxable-base divided by 0.8) on distributed, Estonian model since 2018. New 2026 alternative: 15% CIT + 6% PIT for individual-shareholder companies.
Beyond the headline number, three regulatory currents shape every Latvian structuring decision in 2026: OECD Pillar Two and the local Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) for groups above €750 million consolidated revenue; the EU’s progressive AML/CTF tightening (AMLD6 and AMLR transitioning into the Anti-Money-Laundering Authority’s direct supervision); and the UR’s ongoing migration toward digital-only filing and real-time beneficial-owner reconciliation. Smaller entities below the Pillar Two threshold continue under the regular Latvian tax regime, but reporting obligations to the UR apply to every entity regardless of size.
We track these regulatory currents continuously and flag anything material to active clients within working days of the change being announced. You do not need to monitor Latvia regulatory news yourself, that is part of what we provide for the annual retainer.
Three deadline buckets: UR confirmation/return (typically annual, on the company’s accounting reference date), corporate tax return (filed via the Latvia tax authority following the financial year-end, usually 6-12 months after period close), and VAT/sales-tax returns (monthly or quarterly cadence depending on turnover, where applicable). Beneficial-owner-register updates are event-triggered (filing required when ownership changes) rather than calendar-based.
Penalty consequences vary by jurisdiction but typically follow a pattern: small late-filing fee for short delays, larger automatic penalty for sustained non-filing, and ultimately strike-off from the UR for prolonged non-compliance. Strike-off voids the company and may require court application to restore. Our retainer service handles the full filing calendar so this never happens to a client on our books.
Three layers determine the after-tax dividend: Latvia corporate tax already paid at the SIA level on profits (20% nominal / 25% effective on distributed); Latvia withholding tax on outbound dividends, which is the variable that depends on where the recipient sits, zero under the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive for qualifying EU/EEA corporate holders meeting the minimum holding test, reduced rates under bilateral treaties for non-EU recipients, default Latvian statutory rate where no treaty applies; and recipient-country tax on the dividend in the parent’s hands (often subject to participation exemption at the recipient level). Your consultant maps this end-to-end in the initial scoping so the after-tax economics are clear before incorporation.