Aspects of Company Law in Lithuania
In Lithuania, the system of company law regulations consists of laws and secondary legislation. Secondary legislation includes resolutions of the Government and orders issued by the Director of the Department of Statistics under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Guarantor of Company Law
The fundamentals of company law are established in laws adopted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, namely the Law on Enterprises, the Law on Joint Stock Companies, and the Law on the Register of Enterprises. Most provisions of the European Community company law directives are reflected in these laws.
The Law on Enterprises No. I-196 (8 May 1990) lists and defines the legal forms of enterprises and sets out the basic principles of their establishment, operation, and liquidation, as well as the rules for establishing, operating, and terminating branches and representative offices of enterprises (including foreign enterprises).
Law on Joint Stock Companies
The Law on Joint Stock Companies No. VIII-1835 (13 July 2000) establishes measures to protect the rights of shareholders and the interests of creditors of joint stock companies and private limited liability companies. It also defines the minimum share capital requirements, rules for capital maintenance, increase and reduction, the basic procedures for company formation, mergers, divisions, and liquidation, management bodies and their competencies, the possibility for a single person to establish a company, and other related matters. The provisions of this law comply with the requirements of European Union company law.
Based on the Law on the Register of Enterprises No. I-440 (31 July 1990), the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania was established and operates in Lithuania. Through this register, the right of natural and legal persons to obtain data extracts and copies of documents from the Register of Enterprises is ensured. The Law on the Register of Enterprises also defines the administrators of the register and the chief administrator, the data and documents subject to registration, their public nature, the grounds for refusal to register an enterprise, and other related issues.
Government resolutions establish the procedural requirements for managing the Register of Enterprises, the amounts of state fees for enterprise registration, as well as fees for the use of data and documents contained in the Register of Enterprises.
Ministry Responsible for Company Law
The Ministry of Economy is responsible for matters related to company law.
Issues of accounting and auditing are closely related to company law and fall within the competence of the Ministry of Finance.
The currently applicable Law on Accounting No. IX-574 (6 November 2001) regulates the accounting of assets, equity, liabilities, business transactions, and economic events of legal entities with limited and unlimited civil liability, as well as other economic entities, and sets out the organization and maintenance of accounting.
The Law on Consolidated Financial Reporting of Enterprises No. IX-576 (6 November 2001) regulates the preparation, approval, publication, and audit of consolidated financial statements and establishes requirements for enterprises that are required to prepare consolidated financial statements.
The Audit Law No. VIII-1227 (15 June 1999) sets out the requirements for persons entitled to perform audits of annual financial statements, the requirements for audit firms, as well as the procedure for the recognition of foreign auditors.
By Resolution No. 649 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 5 June 2000 “On the Approval of the Negotiating Positions of the Republic of Lithuania in the Negotiations on Accession to the European Union,” the negotiating position of the Republic of Lithuania on company law was approved.
If you require consultations on various aspects of company law in Lithuania, please contact professionals who will be happy to provide you with legal services.
Lawyers’ Contacts:
Email: info@tga.lt
Tel.: +37063041444
Lietuvosvalstybe.com
When citing or distributing information from lietuvosvalstybe.com, a reference to the information source is mandatory.