{"id":29455,"date":"2026-09-18T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilnex.io\/en\/sabis-e-invoicing-lithuania\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T11:00:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T11:00:05","slug":"sabis-e-invoicing-lithuania","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bilnex.io\/en\/sabis-e-invoicing-lithuania\/","title":{"rendered":"Free e-invoicing to Lithuanian buyers: how SABIS works"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

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<\/a>, 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 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.<\/p>\n

\n

Key facts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Fact<\/th>\nValue<\/th>\nValid from<\/th>\nSource<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
SABIS usage fee<\/td>\nThere is no charge for using SABIS; NBFC and the Ministry of Finance are still only considering a future charging model, and no start date has been published<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nsabis.nbfc.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SABIS replaced the E. s\u0105skaita system<\/td>\nSince 1 September 2024, SABIS operates in place of the former E. s\u0105skaita<\/td>\n2024-09-01<\/td>\nklausk.vpt.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Invoices under oral agreements<\/td>\nSince 1 January 2025, an invoice under an oral agreement must be submitted electronically through SABIS or Peppol regardless of the amount; until the end of 2024 a \u20ac1,000 (excluding VAT) threshold app<\/td>\n2025-01-01<\/td>\nsabis.nbfc.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Route for a foreign supplier<\/td>\nA foreign supplier cannot join the SABIS portal in the short term; the invoice is submitted through the Peppol network via any suitable access point<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nsabis.nbfc.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Accepted formats<\/td>\nPeppol BIS Billing 3.0 eInvoice and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 Credit Note<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nsabis.nbfc.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Buyer’s processing deadline<\/td>\nA received invoice must be processed within the term agreed in the contract, but no later than 10 working days<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nnbfc.lrv.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

What SABIS is, and what happened to E. s\u0105skaita<\/h2>\n

SABIS is the state system in which Lithuanian contracting authorities (perkan\u010diosios organizacijos, the public buyers that have to follow procurement rules) receive, review and approve supplier invoices. The old E. s\u0105skaita system no longer exists: according to the Public Procurement Office, the changeover took place on 1 September 2024<\/a>. If a guideline or an older contract still points you to E. s\u0105skaita, that reference is out of date.<\/p>\n

The obligation doesn’t sit in one single law. The list of legal bases published by SABIS<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Which invoices have to go through SABIS or Peppol<\/h2>\n

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<\/a>. The obligation covers invoices for goods, services and works, including invoices issued under oral and long-term oral agreements, regardless of the invoice amount.<\/p>\n

The \u20ac1,000 threshold is gone<\/h3>\n

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<\/a>. Until the end of 2024 the rule only kicked in from \u20ac1,000 excluding VAT. So if you did a one-off \u20ac180 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.<\/p>\n

What actually counts as an e-invoice<\/h3>\n

Worth knowing: the Lithuanian requirement is wider than the EU minimum. Directive 2014\/55\/EU on electronic invoicing in public procurement<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Can an Estonian supplier get a SABIS portal account?<\/h2>\n

Short answer: no, not at the moment. The SABIS note on foreign persons<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

If Peppol doesn’t suit you for some reason, 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.<\/p>\n

How a Lithuanian company registers and adds users<\/h3>\n

For a Lithuanian company the path is easier. At first login the manager registers the organisation with a wizard and receives the administrator role; no authorisation from the Centre of Registers is required<\/a>. Further employees submit a prieigos pra\u0161ymas (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.<\/p>\n

By hand, XML, an interface or Peppol: four practical routes<\/h2>\n

SABIS takes in invoice data through three channels<\/a>: manual entry or XML file import in the portal, a universal interface (universali s\u0105saja) from your accounting software, and the Peppol network where the organisation is a member of that network. The accepted formats are Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 eInvoice and Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 Credit Note.<\/p>\n

Which one fits depends on your volume and your location:<\/p>\n