{"id":29531,"date":"2026-09-22T11:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilnex.io\/en\/lithuanian-invoice-vs-vat\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T13:55:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T13:55:18","slug":"lietuviska-saskaita-faktura-ir-pvm","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bilnex.io\/lt\/lietuviska-saskaita-faktura-ir-pvm\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra ir PVM s\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra Lietuvoje: kuri\u0105 i\u0161ra\u0161yti"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In short: which document do you have to issue?<\/h2>\n

If you are not registered for VAT in Lithuania, then a sale of goods or a service has to be documented with a s\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra, a plain invoice<\/a>, and that requirement covers every non-VAT-registered business entity, natural persons excepted. If you are VAT-registered in Lithuania, you issue a PVM s\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra, a VAT invoice, and you issue one even when the transaction is VAT-exempt or falls outside Lithuanian VAT altogether<\/a>. So a VAT invoice is not simply “an invoice with a VAT line on it”. A VAT payer applying the small business scheme (SVS, smulkiojo verslo schema) also issues a VAT invoice, but shows only its own VAT number, with no VAT rate and no VAT amount<\/a>. In other words: the document type is decided by your registration status, not by whether there’s a tax line on the page.<\/p>\n

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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
Small business scheme (SVS) threshold in Lithuania<\/td>\nRemuneration for VAT-taxable activity must not exceed \u20ac45,000 in either the previous or the current calendar year<\/td>\n2025-05-01<\/td>\nvmi.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Duty to show the VAT amount separately once the threshold is exceeded but registration has not happened<\/td>\nApplies to all taxable persons (natural and legal), PVM\u012e Article 92(4)<\/td>\n2026-01-01<\/td>\nvmi.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Threshold for acquisitions of goods from other EU member states<\/td>\n\u20ac14,000 excluding VAT in the current or the previous calendar year<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nvmi.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Content of an invoice issued by a VAT payer applying SVS<\/td>\nOwn VAT number must be shown; the VAT rate and VAT amount must not<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nvmi.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Invoicing deadline for continuous supplies and long-term services<\/td>\nBy the 10th day of the following month at the latest<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nvmi.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Submission of invoice registers to i.SAF<\/td>\nCalendar month data by the 20th day of the following month<\/td>\nas of 2026-09<\/td>\nvmi.lt<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

A plain invoice is not a half-finished invoice<\/h2>\n

It’s simply a different document. The mandatory fields come from Article 7 of the Financial Accounting Act (Finansin\u0117s apskaitos \u012fstatymas), which VMI, Lithuania’s tax authority, points to in its documentation requirements<\/a>: the name of the document, the name and code of the party drawing it up, the date, and the content and result of the transaction expressed in money and\/or quantity. The series and number have to run in ascending order. Your customer can book the cost on the strength of that invoice. What they can’t do is deduct input VAT from it.<\/p>\n

When is a VAT invoice mandatory?<\/h2>\n

A registered VAT payer documents both sales of goods and supplies of services with a VAT invoice. The usual recipient is another taxable person or a legal entity not carrying out economic activity, but a private individual counts too<\/a>. For an advance payment, the invoice is issued for the amount of the advance received; the taxable value of the service is later declared reduced by that advance.<\/p>\n

The invoice can also be drawn up on your behalf by the buyer or a third party, provided the parties agreed on that beforehand. The deadline is stricter than many people assume: the general rule is “immediately after the supply”, meaning as soon as it is objectively possible, not by the end of the month. For long-term services and continuous supplies of electricity, gas and heat<\/a>, the invoice may be issued by the 10th day of the following month at the latest.<\/p>\n

Receipt or invoice: what does a private customer get in retail?<\/h2>\n

In retail sales to a private individual, a cash register receipt can be enough. But if the buyer asks for a VAT invoice, you have to issue one. On that invoice, alongside the usual fields, you need the unique number of the cash register, the sequential number of the receipt and the date the receipt was issued<\/a>. Selling to a company, a receipt won’t do.<\/p>\n

The required fields side by side<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Data<\/th>\nPlain invoice<\/th>\nPVM s\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Document name, date, series and number<\/td>\nyes<\/td>\nyes (the title “PVM s\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra” itself is not mandatory)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seller’s name and code<\/td>\nyes<\/td>\nyes, together with the VAT number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Buyer’s details<\/td>\nyes<\/td>\nyes, together with the VAT number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Content and result of the transaction<\/td>\nyes<\/td>\ndescription of the goods or service, quantity<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Date of supply or of the advance payment<\/td>\nnot separately required<\/td>\nyes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Taxable value, VAT rate and VAT amount in euros<\/td>\nno<\/td>\nyes, except for a seller applying SVS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The note “Atvirk\u0161tinis apmokestinimas” (reverse charge)<\/td>\nno<\/td>\nyes, where the reverse charge applies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The list of fields comes from Article 80 of the Lithuanian VAT Act (PVM\u012e)<\/a>. The heading on the page decides nothing. What decides is the content, and the fact that the document reflects a transaction that actually took place.<\/p>\n

\u20ac45,000, \u20ac14,000 and services bought from abroad<\/h2>\n

Since 1 May 2025, SVS can be applied in Lithuania by a person whose remuneration for activity taxable in Lithuania has not exceeded \u20ac45,000 in either the previous or the current calendar year<\/a>; on Lithuanian sales, that person charges no VAT. But the threshold is not the only trigger. A registration obligation can also arise when you buy services from foreign taxable persons \u2014 advertising or platform intermediation services, for instance. For acquisitions of goods from other EU member states the threshold is \u20ac14,000 excluding VAT in the current or the previous calendar year; once you cross it you have to register, yet with Lithuanian turnover below \u20ac45,000 you can still choose SVS.<\/p>\n

Which is why the mere presence of a VAT number answers nothing. An invoice from a seller who has one can be entirely lawful with no VAT line at all.<\/p>\n

Paper, PDF or e-invoice: does it matter?<\/h2>\n

A paper and an electronic VAT invoice carry the same legal force, but the electronic form may only be used with the buyer’s prior consent<\/a>, which can be given in writing or by conduct. A VAT payer files invoice registers in i.SAF, VMI’s invoice data reporting system: one calendar month’s data by the 20th day of the following month<\/a>. VAT payers applying SVS do not have to submit their invoice data to i.SAF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At EU level, the cross-border digital reporting and e-invoicing requirements under Directive (EU) 2025\/516 start to apply on 1 July 2030. A general date for mandatory B2B e-invoicing on domestic Lithuanian transactions is not fixed in VMI’s current guidance, so don’t assume one and don’t build it into your bookkeeping plans yet.<\/p>\n

Also available in:<\/span> eesti keeles<\/a> \u00b7 lietuvi\u0161kai<\/a><\/p>\n

Last reviewed:

FAQ<\/h2>\n

When do you have to issue a plain invoice in Lithuania, and when a VAT invoice?<\/h3>\n

If your business is not registered for VAT in Lithuania, you issue a plain invoice (s\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra). A Lithuanian VAT payer has to issue a PVM s\u0105skaita fakt\u016bra even when the transaction is VAT-exempt or falls under the small business scheme (SVS). The document type is decided by the seller’s registration status, not by whether VAT is added to the invoice.<\/p>\n

How does the \u20ac45,000 turnover threshold affect invoicing in Lithuania?<\/h3>\n

Since 1 May 2025, businesses with annual turnover below \u20ac45,000 can apply the small business scheme (SVS) and don’t have to charge VAT on their Lithuanian sales. Such a business still issues a VAT invoice showing its own VAT number, but without a VAT rate or VAT amount on it. Likewise, a seller applying SVS doesn’t have to report its invoice data to the i.SAF register.<\/p>\n

By when do you have to issue a VAT invoice to the buyer in Lithuania?<\/h3>\n

The general rule is that you issue the VAT invoice immediately after the goods are supplied or the service is performed, not just by the end of the calendar month. The exception applies to long-term and continuous services, such as electricity or gas supplies, where the invoice can be issued by the 10th day of the following month at the latest.<\/p>\n