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When you need a Lithuanian company that can sign a contract this week, a ready-made shelf company — an “atsarginė UAB” or pre-registered uždaroji akcinė bendrovė — is the fastest legal route into the Baltics’ largest economy. ShelfCompanies24 maintains a live inventory of clean, never-traded Lithuanian UAB entities registered with Registrų centras (Centre of Registers), with paid-up įstatinis kapitalas, an active company code and a clean STI (tax inspectorate) record. Most transfers complete in 3–7 working days.
Lithuania combines Eurozone membership (since 2015), competitive corporate taxation (16% standard CIT or 6% for small companies), strategic position between Western Europe and CIS markets, and a highly-digitised public administration (e-Government rankings consistently top-10 globally).
servicecovers UAB, notar (where required), Registrų centras filing, JADIS UBO register and our agency fee.
Atsarginė UAB + virtual office + Lithuanian banking + buhalterinė įmonė bundled.
Most transfers within 3–5 working days. Lithuanian-speaking case manager.
Sign at any Lithuanian consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Vilnius attorney via įgaliojimas.
We draft the share-transfer agreement, file Registrų centras amendment, update JADIS UBO register.
A Lithuanian shelf company — atsarginė UAB (“reserve UAB”) or paruošta bendrovė — is a pre-registered, never-traded UAB formed by a professional service provider purely for transfer. From incorporation to sale, the company has:
| Feature | UAB (uždaroji akcinė bendrovė) | AB (akcinė bendrovė) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum įstatinis kapitalas | €2,500 | €40,000 |
| Akcininkai (shareholders) | 1+, max 250 | 1+, registered shares |
| Governance | Direktorius + visuotinis akcininkų susirinkimas | Valdyba + Stebėtojų taryba |
| Best fit | ~95% of buyers — SMEs, holdings | Listed groups |
Lithuania adopted the euro on 1 January 2015 — last of the three Baltic states. Your UAB operates in euro from day one with full SEPA participation.
UABs with annual revenue ≤ €300,000 and ≤ 10 employees qualify for a reduced 6% CIT rate (versus 16% standard) — one of the most attractive small-business tax positions in the EU.
A new Lithuanian UAB takes 1–3 weeks via Registrų centras; an atsarginė UAB is already on the register and can invoice the day the share-transfer completes.
Counter-parties run register checks at registrucentras.lt. A UAB with a register entry dated months in the past reads as more substantial than a fresh formation.
Every Lithuanian ready-made UAB carries an įmonės kodas and where pre-registered a PVM mokėtojo kodas for VIES intra-Community trade.
SEB Lithuania, Swedbank Lithuania, Luminor Bank, Šiaulių bankas, Citadele Lithuania, plus fintech-friendly options like Revolut Bank UAB (Lithuanian-licensed since 2018) all serve corporate clients.
Live inventory: UAB entities of various ages registered in Vilnius (most), Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai or Panevėžys.
Apostilled passport copies, proof of address, business-purpose note. Lithuanian AML rules under Pinigų plovimo prevencijos įstatymas.
Lithuanian law allows simple written form for UAB share-transfer agreements (notarisation only required for certain regulated sectors). We draft the bilingual Lithuanian-English deed. Foreign buyers can sign at any Lithuanian consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Vilnius attorney.
The outgoing director is dismissed and your new direktorius appointed by shareholder resolution.
Name (pavadinimas), registered office (buveinė), business activity (veiklos sritis with EVRK codes — Lithuania’s NACE classification) are amended in the same act.
Files submitted electronically via the Registrų centras self-service portal. Processing: typically 1–3 working days.
Beneficial owners filed in JADIS (Juridinių asmenų dalyvių informacinė sistema) within 10 days. Penalties up to €5,800 plus business-rights restrictions.
| Tax | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CIT — pelno mokestis | 16% standard | Increased from 15% to 16% effective 2025 |
| Reduced CIT — small companies | 6% | Available to UABs with revenue ≤ €300,000 AND ≤ 10 employees |
| VAT (PVM) | 21% standard, 9% / 5% / 0% reduced | Mandatory above €45,000 turnover; voluntary below |
| Withholding tax on dividends | 15% | 0% to EU corporate parents under Parent-Subsidiary Directive |
Atsarginė UAB (“reserve UAB”) or paruošta bendrovė. Both refer to a pre-registered, never-traded UAB held in reserve.
3–7 working days from KYC to complete Registrų centras amendment.
€2,500, fully paid in cash at formation. This is mid-range in CEE.
Eurozone membership (2015), 6% reduced CIT for small companies (revenue ≤ €300,000 + ≤ 10 employees), highly digital government services (e-Government top-10 globally), access to Russian-speaking workforce for CIS-corridor business, and a strategic Baltic location.
No. Sign at any Lithuanian consulate, via eIDAS qualified electronic signature, or delegate to our Vilnius attorney via įgaliojimas.
6% CIT if eligible for small-company regime; 16% otherwise. VAT 21% standard. Dividend withholding 15% (0% to EU corporate parents).
Want today’s Lithuanian inventory? Contact our Lithuanian desk.
Lithuania is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick Lithuania for your UAB specifically? EU fintech hub, EMI/PI licensing friendly is the headline reason — but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you’re pricing 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 Lithuania specifically: 16% standard / 6% small-company (revenue up to k & up to 10 employees). Eurozone since 2015.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in Lithuania:
Yes. A name change is filed with the Registrų centras via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing — typically clears in 48 hours. We include up to one name change in the standard fee for both shelf-company purchase and new formation. Subsequent changes are billed at cost.
Yes. As a Lithuania-tax-resident UAB, your company has automatic access to the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive, the EU Interest and Royalties Directive, and the network of Lithuania’s bilateral double-tax treaties (typically 70-90 partner countries). Treaty access is conditional on meeting the principal-purpose test (PPT) under the Multilateral Instrument and the relevant treaty’s anti-abuse provisions.
Client information is held under contractual non-disclosure plus the professional-secrecy obligations applicable to corporate-service providers in our home jurisdiction. We do not share client identity or transaction details with third parties beyond what is statutorily required (KYC reporting, beneficial-owner-register filings, AML/CTF reporting where triggered). Our internal access to client files is logged and access-restricted by need-to-know.
Material tax changes (rate moves, new minimum-tax regimes, treaty amendments) get communicated to active clients with our analysis of impact. Where the change is structural — for example the OECD Pillar Two implementation in Lithuania or a domestic tax-base reform — we proactively flag clients whose structures may need restructuring and offer a pricing-defined remedial path. The client is not left to discover material regulatory change from their accountant or from media reports.
No — and you should not engage anyone who claims otherwise. The VĮ Registrų centras (Registrų centras) records the actual incorporation date, which is publicly searchable and immutable. The shelf UABs 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 Lithuanian shelf UAB 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 Lithuanian corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are quoted line-item separately so there is no scope creep on the headline incorporation or transfer fee.
Different jurisdictions are stronger for different commercial activities. Lithuania consistently performs well for international operators in:
None of these are exclusive — a Lithuanian UAB 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 Lithuania is the right fit before we begin.
A Lithuanian UAB 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 Lithuania’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 Lithuanian UAB 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 Lithuania: 16% headline corporate tax. 16% standard / 6% small-company (revenue up to k & up to 10 employees). Eurozone since 2015.
Beyond the headline number, three regulatory currents shape every Lithuanian structuring decision in 2026: OECD Pillar Two and the local Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) for groups above M consolidated revenue; the EU’s progressive AML/CTF tightening (AMLD6 and AMLR transitioning into the Anti-Money-Laundering Authority’s direct supervision); and the Registrų centras’s ongoing migration toward digital-only filing and real-time beneficial-owner reconciliation. Smaller entities below the Pillar Two threshold continue under the regular Lithuanian tax regime, but reporting obligations to the Registrų centras 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 Lithuania regulatory news yourself — that is part of what we provide for the annual retainer.
Three deadline buckets: Registrų centras confirmation/return (typically annual, on the company’s accounting reference date), corporate tax return (filed via the Lithuania 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 Registrų centras 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: Lithuania corporate tax already paid at the UAB level on profits (16%); Lithuania 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 Lithuanian 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.