• Applicable Legislation
• Regulatory Framework
• Regulation of Import (Release of Goods for Free Circulation)
• Regulation of Export
• Customs Transit Procedures
• Import, Export and Transit Restrictions and Prohibitions
• Customs Warehouses and Import-Export Terminals
• Customs Mediators
• Free Economic Zones
• Protection of Local Producers and Anti-Dumping Regulations

After regaining independence in 1990, Lithuania soon discovered itself in the beneficial position of a transit country between Western and Eastern European markets. This has encouraged Lithuania to accelerate the development of its import and export legislation. This process was marked with enactment of the new Customs Code on 18 April 1996 which came into force on 1 January 1998. The new Customs Code was appreciated by the European Commission and other experts for being one of the first in Eastern Europe to accurately harmonise with EU legislation. The Customs Code also conforms with the main international agreements in the field of customs control and with the World Trade Organisation agreements. Further, the process of the calculation of taxes has been moved from the border check-points to the custom's offices within the country and import-export terminals are now functioning. Thus, the main aspects of the Lithuanian customs system are already harmonised with the EU law.


Applicable Legislation

International Agreements

1. Lithuania is a party to the Free Trade Agreements with the following countries:
   1. the EU Member States;
   2. the EFTA member states (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein) and
   3. other countries - Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Turkey;
2. Lithuania has entered into international agreements granting "most favoured nation" status to Belarus, Russia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and the member states of WTO (Lithuania joined the WTO as of 31 May 2001);
3. In 1994 Lithuania joined the 14 June 1983 Brussels Convention on a Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (with the additional Protocol of 24 June 1986);
4. In 1997 Lithuania ratified the 26 June 1990 Temporary Import Convention (Istanbul Convention).

1. The 22 December 1993 Law No. I-345 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Value-Added Tax";
2. The 18 April 1996 Customs Code of the Republic of Lithuania;
3. The 19 February 1998 Law No. VIII-633 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Customs Tariffs";
4. The 23 June 1998 Law No. VIII-807 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Anti-dumping";
5. The 23 May 2000 Law No. VIII-1695 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Countevailing Duties";
6. The 23 May 2000 Law No. VIII-1703 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Protective Measures";
7. The 7 June 1995 Resolution No. 783 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania "On Import and Export Terminals (Warehouses for Temporary Storage of Goods)";
8. The 24 March 1997 Resolution No. 268 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania "On the Procedure for Regulation of Import and Export of Goods in the Republic of Lithuania";
9. The 11 August 1997 Resolution No. 898 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania "On Approval of the Procedure for Temporary Import of Goods into the Republic of Lithuania for Processing";
10. The 13 January 2000 Order No. 3 of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania "On Approval of the Regulations for Declaration and Customs Inspection of Goods";
11. The 14 June 2001 Resolution No. 719 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania "On Approval of the Procedure for Temporary Import of Goods into the Republic Lithuania";
12. The 19 June 2001 Resolution No. 744 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania "On Approval of the Regulations for Establishment of Customs Warehouses and their Activity";
13. The 20 June 2001 Resolution No. 766 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania "On Approval of the Order of Execution of the Procedure for Outright Export";
14. The 21 December 2001 Resolution No. 1557 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania "On Approval of the Order of Execution of the Procedure for Release of Goods for Free Circulation".

The principal institutions involved in regulation and administration of customs procedures are the following:

1. The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania;
2. The Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance;
3. Territorial Customs Offices;
4. Customs posts (located at border check-points, railway stations, international seaports, river ports, airports and other locations as defined by the Customs Department); and
5. other customs offices.

Customs Tariffs

According to the Law on Customs Tariffs, all goods imported into the customs territory of Lithuania are subject to customs duties, except for special cases provided by the said law when the goods are exempt from duty. Customs tariffs are listed on the Internet at http://www.ekic.lt/muitai/muitai.htm.

According to the method of duty calculation, the customs duties may be:

1. ad valorem customs duty - calculated in percent from the customs value of the goods;
2. specific (quantitative) customs duty - calculated from customs duty rate per physical unit of measurement of goods; and
3. compound customs duty - a combination of both the ad valorem duty and specific duty.

1. Autonomous import duties are applied in respect of goods produced in the countries or their groups with which Lithuania has no international agreement establishing "the most favoured nation" trading status or has not established any other trade regime, or when the origin of goods that would make them qualify for a different rate of customs duty is not verified. The rate of autonomous import duty varies from 5 to 65% (87% for certain types of sugar);
2. Conventional import duties are applied in respect of goods produced in the countries or their groups with which Lithuania has concluded international agreements establishing "the most favoured nation" trading status. The rate of conventional duty varies from 0 to 57% (87% for certain types of sugar); and
3. Preferential import duties are applied to goods produced in the countries or their groups with which Lithuania has concluded the Free Trade Agreements. The rates of preferential import duty for each particular type of goods are indicated in a relevant Free Trade Agreement.

Seasonal import duties are also applied to some goods.

For the purposes of defining customs tariffs, Lithuania uses the Combined Customs Tariffs and Foreign Trade Statistics Nomenclature, composed in accordance with the 14 June 1983 Brussels Convention on a Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (with the additional Protocol of 24 June 1986) and the EU Combined Customs Tariffs and Statistics Nomenclature.

Import VAT

The value-added tax (VAT) of 18% is also applied to goods imported into Lithuania. VAT is levied on the customs value of goods, plus import duty and excise tax, if applicable. There is a list of goods that are exempt from import VAT.

Excise Tax on Imported Products

In addition to import duties, the importer must pay excise taxes varying from 10% to 75% applicable to the following goods imported into Lithuania:

1. undenatured ethyl alcohol and spirits (beer included);
2. tobacco and tobacco substitutes;
3. coffee, chocolate and other foodstuffs containing cocoa;
4. bijouterie, articles of gold and silver, except artificial bijouterie and coins;
5. gasoline, kerosene, jet engine fuel, diesel fuel, liquid fuel for stoves, fuel oil, orimulssion;
6. luxury cars;
7. electricity, except when it is produced from fuel of biological origin;
8. erotic or violent publications;
9. all kinds of oil, except bio oils;
10. sugar, including sugar in the products;
11. liquid perfume and cosmetics, toilet preparations and certain other products containing ethyl alcohol in which ethyl alcohol concentration exceeds the minimum level quantity of ethyl alcohol concentration established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania;
12. liquefied gas for motor-vehicle transport.

The Law on Customs Tariffs and the 24 March 1997 Resolution No. 268 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania specifies the types of goods and other property that, depending on their peculiarities or particular purpose of their import into Lithuania, are exempted from import duties.

According to import tariff quotas established in the international agreements Lithuania is a party to, or resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, certain quantity of particular goods (mainly agricultural and food products) may, within the established period, be imported into the customs territory of Lithuania without import duties or with reduced import duties. Import tariff quotas for these goods are distributed for a period no longer than 1 year by a tender system administered by the Ministry of Agriculture or other respective Ministries or state institutions.

Customs Evaluation

According to the Customs Code, the customs value of imported goods is considered the price of contract, i.e. the amount of money paid or to be paid for the goods sold for export to the Republic of Lithuania (the contract price method). In case of impossibility to determine the customs value of goods under the method of contract price, the customs value of goods will be determined by applying the following methods:

1. the contract price for sale of identical goods;
2. the contract price for sale of similar goods;
3. deductive (the customs price is determined in accordance with the price per unit of goods); or
4. cumulative (the customs price is calculated by adding the respective costs of stocks and materials comprising the imported goods; the costs of manufacturing or other processing of the imported goods; the costs of transportation and insurance of the imported goods; and other costs usually included in the price of goods).

All goods being imported into Lithuania must be presented for customs inspection and declared under the prescribed procedure. Same as the import of goods into Lithuania, the declaration of the imported goods may be executed only by the Lithuanian entity. The imported goods together with the import declaration must be presented for customs inspection at the customs office (post) under particular Territorial Customs which attends the territory wherein the importer has its registered office. In case the import declaration is to be executed and presented to the customs office by the customs mediator acting on behalf of the importer, such declaration may be presented to the customs office (post) under the Territorial Customs which attends the territory wherein the customs mediator performs its activity.

In addition to the import declaration, the following documents must be presented for customs inspection of the imported goods:

1. an invoice on the basis whereof the customs value of imported goods will be declared (if the goods are imported under a sale-purchase agreement and the method of contract price is to be applied for customs evaluation of the imported goods); pro-forma invoice (in other cases); and agreement on the basis whereof the goods are being imported into Lithuania;
2. an import licence or permit, if prohibitions or restrictions are applied to the import of goods;
3. documents confirming the origin of imported goods (e.g. a certificate of origin - EUR 1 or EUR 2), if preferential duties apply in respect of imported goods or other measures depending on the origin of goods is to be applied;
4. quality certificates or other documents certifying that the quality of imported goods conforms to the quality indices (only when applicable);
5. transportation documents (waybill, CMR waybill, CARNET TIR book), except for the cases when the goods are being declared by the passenger;
6. documents related to the previously performed customs procedure (transit, customs warehousing, temporary storage of goods etc.);
7. packaging inventory or equivalent documents whereby the content of each package is indicated, if the goods of the same sort are being presented in two or more packages;
8. documents certifying that import duties or taxes have been paid, when these duties or taxes must be paid prior to the presentation of goods for customs inspection; and
9. other documents required by applicable registration (e.g. sanitary, veterinary, hygiene certificates etc.).

Currently, no export duties are levied on goods exported from the Republic of Lithuania.

Following the Lithuanian customs legislation, an exporter of goods from Lithuania may only be a Lithuanian entity. The goods to be exported from Lithuania together with an export declaration must be presented for customs inspection at the customs office (post) under particular Territorial Customs which attends the territory wherein the exporter has its registered office.

When declaring goods for export, the following documents must be submitted in addition to an export declaration:

1. invoice on the basis whereof the customs value of exported goods is declared (if the goods are exported under a sale-purchase agreement and the method of contract price is to be applied for customs evaluation of the exported goods); pro-forma invoice (in other cases); and agreement on the basis whereof the goods are being exported from Lithuania;
2. an export licence or permit, if prohibitions or restrictions are applied to the import of goods;
3. transportation documents (waybill, CMR waybill, CARNET TIR book), except for the cases when the goods are being declared by the passenger;
4. documents related to the previously performed customs procedure (transit, customs warehousing, temporary storage of goods etc.);
5. packaging inventory or equivalent documents whereby the content of each package is indicated if the goods of the same sort are being presented in two or more packages;
6. other documents required by applicable regulations (e.g. sanitary, veterinary, hygiene certificates etc.).

The goods transported under the customs transit procedure are not subject to import and export duties or other taxes. However, when executing customs transit procedure, a respective deposit must be paid. Notably, instead of paying the deposit, the executor of the customs transit procedure may present to the Customs a guarantee for a relevant amount of import or export duties and/or taxes established with respect to the goods transported under customs transit procedure. Guarantees may be in the form of a long-term or general guarantee or single shipment guarantees to be issued by a bank or insurance company, as chosen by the executor of the customs transit procedure.

With certain exceptions, goods transported under customs transit procedures must be delivered to a respective customs office (post) for completion of the customs transit procedure not later than within 4-5 days from the commencement of the transit procedure on the other type of transport used. In the event of calamities (e.g. bad weather, natural calamities, damage to vehicles, shortage of fuel, traffic accidents, driver's illness etc.), the expired term for completion of the customs transit procedure may be extended for an additional period of up to 10 days by the head (its deputy) of the Territorial Customs upon a written application of the executor of customs transit procedure.


Import, Export and Transit Restrictions and Prohibitions

Restrictions and prohibitions related to import into Lithuania, export from Lithuania or transportation by transit through Lithuania of particular items (goods) are governed mainly by the 19 May 1995 Resolution No. 718 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. This resolution prohibits import into Lithuania of the second-hand clothes (except those of personal use) without a relevant document confirming that a consignment of goods has been rendered harmless to health. In addition, based on the said resolution, the respective Ministries (the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Environment etc.) have approved the lists of items (goods) the import, export on transit of which is prohibited or is subject to special permission. The said lists of items (goods) are revised once per quarter and filed with the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance.

The Government of the Republic of Lithuania controls import, export and transit of strategic goods and technologies which are included in the List of Controlled Strategic Goods and Technology which is similar, though not yet identical, to that of the EU, or are subject to licensing system. Notably, by the 21 October 1997 Resolution No. VIII-468 the Seimas (Parliament) approved the list of States into which the export of controlled goods is prohibited, as well as the list of States from which import of the controlled goods is prohibited.

Licences for import, export and transit of the strategic goods must be obtained from the Ministry of Economy. The Ministry of Economy is also responsible for issuing of the import certificates for controlled goods, in case such certificates are necessary for obtaining of the export licence in a respective State.


Customs Warehouses and Import-Export Terminals

Customs Warehouses

The customs warehousing procedure may be executed only in respect of non-Lithuanian goods. Nevertheless, the Lithuanian goods may also be placed in the customs warehouse, though customs warehousing procedure will not be applied in respect of such goods. All entities (either foreign or Lithuanian) are allowed to store in the customs warehouses any goods, except for ethyl alcohol.

The goods placed into the customs warehouse under customs warehousing procedure are not subject to import duties and taxes or other economic encumbrances or prohibitions. Persons intending to store goods in a customs warehouse must conclude an agreement with an owner of a respective customs warehouse regarding the storage of goods.

Following the Customs Code, the term for storage of goods in the bonded warehouse is unlimited.

Import-Export Terminals (Warehouses for Temporal Storage)

Any Lithuanian or foreign legal and natural person is entitled to temporarily store in an import-export terminal the goods imported into, exported from or transported by transit through Lithuania. A person intending to temporarily store goods in an import-export terminal must conclude an agreement with an owner (manager) of a respective terminal regarding temporary storage of goods.

In contrast to the customs warehousing procedure, the temporary storage of goods in import-export terminals may be applied in respect of both Lithuanian and non-Lithuanian goods. Spirits (including ethyl alcohol), tobacco products, sugar and goods that are freely circulating within the customs territory of Lithuania, as well as goods in respect of which customs warehousing procedure is being applied, may not be stored in import-export terminals.

Differently from storage of goods in customs warehouses, goods may be temporarily stored in an import-export terminal for no longer than 45 days if brought by sea and for no longer than 20 days if brought by other means of transport. Upon request of a terminal owner or in case the terms for temporal storage have expired, the head (or deputy) of the subdivision (post) of the Territorial Customs attending an import-export terminal may prolong the above terms by 15 days and the head (or deputy) of the Territorial Customs - up to 90 days.

The owner of goods stored in an import-export terminal is to be allowed to carry out common procedures with goods stored in the terminal which do not change the shape of goods and which are necessary to preserve their condition, including improvement of packaging of goods, preparing them for transportation (unloading, putting into packs, sorting and re-packing) as well as weighing, measuring of goods stored in the terminal and carrying out their expertise or evaluation. With exception of imported goods, any other goods may be sold during their temporal storage in an import-export terminal.

The owner (or manager) of an import-export terminal is deemed responsible for the order of storage of goods in the terminal in compliance with the applicable requirements. In case the goods are not removed from the terminal in due time, administrative sanctions may be imposed against the owner of the terminal.


Customs Mediators

Usually, customs formalities related to import/ export of goods or execution of other customs procedures or Customs authorised actions are performed by the customs mediators acting on behalf of a person declaring the goods for a particular customs procedure. Customs mediators provide assistance in declaring the goods and presenting them for customs inspection, executing customs procedures as well as other Customs authorised actions. The relationship between a customs mediator and an executor of a respective customs procedure must be defined by a contract.

Customs mediators are registered and licensed by the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance.


Free Economic Zones

Based on the Law on Fundamentals of Free Economic Zones, goods within a FEZ are considered outside the customs territory of Lithuania with respect to import or export duties and taxes or other economic encumbrances or prohibitions. Litas (LTL) or convertible foreign currencies may be used for payments within a FEZ. Regulations that are applied to money brought in and taken out of a FEZ, however, are identical to the regulations that apply to money within the Republic of Lithuania.


Protection of Local Producers and Anti-Dumping Regulations

In order to protect local producers, if it is discovered that imported goods are subsidised and impair lawful interests of local producers, preventive measures as countervailing duty and protective duty may be applied. The protective duty may be imposed on imported goods either temporarily during the period of investigation or permanently.

The Law on Anti-dumping is designed to protect national producers and the domestic market from unfair competition resulting from the import of certain goods at prices below the cost of production ("dumping") or at prices below those charged in the exporter's national market. Procedures for implementation of the Law on Anti-dumping have been established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

The Government has authorised the State Competition Office, the Consumer Protection Office and the Competition Council to supervise implementation of the Law on Anti-dumping. The size of dumping is established in each case, taking into consideration a possible harm to national producers and/or the domestic market. Both temporary anti-dumping measures (temporary customs duties or guarantees to pay temporary customs duties) and final anti-dumping duties are set by the Competition Council (the imposition of final anti-dumping duties must be approved by the Ministry of Economy).