Free e-invoicing to Lithuanian buyers: how SABIS works

Yes, there is a free route, but which route you get depends on where your company is registered. SABIS, the Lithuanian state's central information system for public-sector invoices, costs its users nothing: according to the official SABIS FAQ, no usage fee is charged as of 15 September 2026, and NBFC together with the Ministry of Finance are still only considering a possible future charging model, with no start date published. Now the catch. A supplier registered in Estonia or any other country outside Lithuania cannot log into the SABIS portal at the moment, because the login runs through VIISP, the Lithuanian state's identification service. Your official route is the Peppol network, and SABIS does not set the price of a Peppol Access Point, the operator that connects you to that network. That price comes from your operator's list. So the portal is free, while a foreign supplier's cost depends on the e-invoice operator chosen.

What SABIS is, and what happened to E

SABIS is the state system in which Lithuanian contracting authorities (perkančiosios organizations, the public buyers that have to follow procurement rules) receive, review and approve supplier invoices. The old E. account system no longer exists: according to the Public Procurement Office, the changeover took place on 1 September 2024. If a guideline or an older contract still points you to E. sukta, that reference is out of date.

The obligation does not sit in one single law. The list of legal bases published by SABIS names Article 6(4) of the Law on Financial Accounting No IX-574, Government Resolution No 405 of 27 April 2022, and amendment No XIII-327 to the Law on Public Procurement (2 May 2017). In practice that adds up to one thing: how your invoice reaches the buyer is no longer a matter you two agree between yourselves. It is a regulated channel.

Which invoices have to go through SABIS or Peppol

The Ministry of Finance explains that contracting authorities must receive electronic accounting documents complying with the European e-invoicing standard through SABIS, and from that follows the other side of the coin, that suppliers must submit their invoices through SABIS. The obligation covers invoices for goods, services and works, including invoices issued under oral and long-term oral agreements, regardless of the invoice amount.

The €1,000 threshold is gone

That disappearing threshold is where people get caught. Invoices under oral agreements have had to be submitted electronically through SABIS or Peppol at any amount since 1 January 2025. Until the end of 2024 the rule only kicked in from €1,000 excluding VAT. So if you did a one-off €180 job for a Lithuanian municipality without signing a written contract, the old reflex of "too small to bother with an e-invoice" no longer applies.

What actually counts as an e-invoice

Worth knowing: the Lithuanian requirement is wider than the EU minimum. Directive 2014/55/EU on electronic invoicing in public procurement obliges public buyers to accept standard-compliant e-invoices mainly in connection with contracts above the EU thresholds; current Lithuanian guidance goes further and covers every amount. The same directive also settles what an e-invoice actually is: a compliant invoice is a machine-readable structured data file, not a picture. A PDF invoice or a scan does not meet the requirement, however neat and signed it looks.

Can an Estonian supplier get a SABIS portal account?

Short answer: no, not at the moment. The SABIS note on foreign persons states that foreign suppliers of goods, services and works cannot join the portal in the short term, and directs them to the Peppol network through any suitable access point. The exception is narrow: a foreign citizen residing in Lithuania who represents a legal or natural person registered in Lithuania logs into the portal through VIISP just like a local user.

If Peppol doesn't suit you for some reason, the NBFC allows the invoice to be submitted in a way the buyer accepts, by email, for example. That is not a default option. It assumes the buyer agrees to it, and in practice it means handwork in the buyer's accounting. Ask beforehand, not afterwards.

How a Lithuanian company registers and adds users

For a Lithuanian company the path is easier. At first login the manager registers the organization with a wizard and receives the administrator role; no authorization from the Center of Registers is required. Further employees submit an access request (an access request), which the administrator approves, or the administrator adds them directly. The roles are separate: an invoice registrar can enter invoices under written contracts, while an oral-agreement invoice registrar handles invoices issued under oral agreements.

By hand, XML, an interface or Peppol: four practical routes

SABIS takes in invoice data through three channels: manual entry or XML file import in the portal, a universal interface (universali sylvez) from your accounting software, and the Peppol network where the organization is a member of that network. The accepted formats are Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 eInvoice and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 Credit Note.

Which one fits depends on your volume and your location:

• Portal, by hand: fine for a Lithuanian company sending a couple of invoices a month. Free, but every invoice is handmade.
• XML import in the portal: for when your software can produce a Peppol BIS 3.0 file but there is no interface.
• Universal interface: for when invoices run into the dozens and are already created in your accounting software.
• Peppol: for when your company is a member of the Peppol network. As a bonus you also get invoice status messages back (Peppol BIS Invoice response), so you can see whether the buyer accepted the invoice.

Why a Peppol invoice can sit stuck in SABIS

Sent is not the same as received. NBFC issued a separate warning that in May 2026 more than 4,500 invoices submitted through Peppol were left entirely unprocessed, which was 5% of that month's Peppol volume. The most frequent causes were a contract number that did not match, a contract that was not in "concluded" status in SABIS, and a credit note without the original invoice number.

Two questions to ask the buyer before your first invoice

For an invoice issued under a written contract and sent through Peppol, the contract details must already be in SABIS, they must be linked to the seller issuing the invoice, and the contract number on the invoice must match the number registered in SABIS. One space or one slash in the wrong place and the invoice hangs there — nobody will call you about it. That's why it pays to ask the buyer two things before your first invoice: the contract number exactly as it is recorded in SABIS, and whether the contract is already in "concluded" status.

The payment term is the invoice, and those 10 working days

The payment term is a mandatory field in SABIS, unless the invoice is marked as paid; the portal offers 30 calendar days by default and you can change it. A separate deadline applies on the buyer's side: under the approved SABIS usage rules, a received invoice must be processed within the term agreed in the contract, but no later than 10 working days.

Those 10 working days are not a payment deadline. They are the window in which the invoice has to pass checks and approval. The money then moves according to the payment term agreed in the contract. If your invoice is still showing “submitted” 15 working days later, that is already a reason to write to the buyer's accounting team, and the most likely culprit is still that contract number.

Also available in: in Estonian · Lithuanian

Last reviewed: September 15, 2026

FAQ

Is using SABIS free?

The use of SABIS is free of charge for the user as of 15.09.2026 and the state authorities have not set a date for the fee to come into effect. However, the cost for the foreign supplier arises from the service fees of the Peppoli access point operator, as it is not possible to log in to the portal directly.

Can an Estonian company log in to the SABIS portal?

Neither Estonian nor any other foreign supplier can currently log in to the SABIS portal, as authentication is done through the Lithuanian national VIISP system. The only official way for a foreign company is to send an invoice through the international Peppol network.

Why might an e-invoice sent via Peppoli get stuck in SABIS?

The main reasons are an inaccurate match of the contract number registered in SABIS or the contract not yet in the approved status in the system. Credit notes are also rejected if they do not reference the original invoice number.