Order No VA-56 of 7 August 2009 of the Head of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania on the Registration of Fuel Objects and Oil Products Accounting Instruments (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 98–4162).

      

      This Order approved the rules for the registration of fuel objects and oil products accounting instruments and established that the fuel objects, tanks, fuel dispenser totalization meters, other fuel measuring devices and accounting journals registered prior to the enforcement of this Law shall not be reregistered.

      

      The Order came into force on 19 August 2009.

      

      Order No 3D-594 of 14 August 2009 of the Minister of Agriculture Amending the Order No 3D-385 of 1 July 2004 of the Minister of Agriculture on the Approval of Rules of Provision of Information in the Alcohol Sector (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 99–4175).

      

      The Order approved a new version of the Rules of Information Provision in Alcohol Sector, which settle the type of information that must be provided by economic entities of the Republic of Lithuania engaged in the production, import or trade of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, ethyl alcohol of nonagricultural origin and wine products. The Order approved forms of reports of information provision.

      

      Law No XI-377 of 21 July 2009 Supplementing Article 73 and the Annex of the Law on Banks of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 93–3970).

      

      The purpose of the Law is to ensure that consumers would use high and equal level of protection of their deposits, and that the period of deposit coverage would meet the needs of depositors in order to maintain the trust of depositors in credit institutions, also in order to transfer the provisions of the Directive 2009/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 Amending the Directive 94/19/EC on Deposit-Guarantee Schemes as Regards the Coverage Level and the Payout Delay (OJ 2009 L 68/3), to the national legislation of the Republic of Lithuania.

      

      This Law established the provision that a supervisory institution shall adopt a decision on the introduction of effective measures, which according to the Law on Deposits and Liabilities to Investors No IX-975 (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios) 2002, No 65–2635) is defined as the insured event, not later than in 5 (five) business days after it establishes that a bank working under a licence issued by the supervisory institution or a branch of a foreign bank is not able to fulfil a legitimate request to pay out a deposit and there are reasonable grounds to think that it will not be able to do so in the near future.

      

      The Law will come into force on 31 December 2010.

      

      Law No XI-372 of 21 July 2009 Supplementing Article 2.33 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 93–3965).

      

      The Law seeks to eliminate all possible cases of collision of legal norms when the activity of legal persons is regulated by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania and other legal acts. This legal act establishes principles indicating ways of solving possible collisions between legal norms by indicating that the Civil Code regulates the establishment, management, reorganization, rearrangement and liquidation of legal persons, defined by the Law No XI-375 (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios) 2009, No 93–3968) on Enterprises and Facilities of Strategic Importance to National Security and Other Enterprises Important to Ensuring National Security, only as much as it is not established otherwise in the previously mentioned legal act.

      

      Law No XI-391 of 22 July 2009 Amending Articles 6, 8, 17, 18, 19 of the Law on Health Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3983).

      

      With this Amendment, the bases of the compulsory health insurance contributions and state social insurance contributions were equalized for the majority of contribution payer categories.

      

      Amendments were also made to the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 6 of the Law regulating who is considered as insured with the compulsory health insurance and who is considered as insured by the state funds.

      

      Besides, with the amendment to Paragraph 8 Article 17 of the Law, payment of compulsory health insurance contributions not on active operations but “occasional” irregular income was renounced.

      

      The provisions are applicable to the calculation and payment of compulsory health insurance contributions for 2010 and subsequent years.

      

      The Law came into force on 1 January 2010.

      

      Law No XI-387 of 22 July 2009 Amending Articles 5 and 17 of the Law on Corporate Income Tax of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3979).

      

      Subparagraph 2 Paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Law was amended establishing that interest income of foreign undertakings that are registered or otherwise organized in a state of European Economic Area or a state with which a treaty on the avoidance of double taxation is concluded (except for interest on Government securities, accrued and paid interest on deposits and interest on subordinated loans) is not taxable provided that the source of income is in the Republic of Lithuania and it was not received via the permanent establishments in the Republic of Lithuania. Otherwise, interest income is taxable without deductions at the rate of 10 percent. This provision is applicable from 1 January 2010.

      

      Paragraph 1 of Article 17 was also supplemented with a provision that the amount on which, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on State Social Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania, state social insurance contributions of a participant in the undertaking (owner of an individual company, full member of partnership or limited partnership) is calculated an paid shall also be attributed to allowed deductions. The provision is applied when calculating corporate income tax of the tax period that started in 2010 and subsequent tax periods.

      

      The Law came into force on 4 August 2009.

      

      Law No XI-388 of 22 July 2009 Amending and Supplementing Articles 5, 12, 26, 35, 36, 37, 53 of the Law on Corporate Income Tax of the Republic of Lithuania, Supplementing It with Articles 371 and 372 and Supplementing Articles 8 and 12 of the Law Amending the Appendage 3 to the Law (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3980).

      

      This Amendment was adopted in order to harmonize the provisions of the amended Law with the provisions of the Law Amending Articles 5 and 17 of the Law on Corporate Income Tax, which proposes starting from 1 January 2010 not to impose corporate income tax on interest payable to foreign undertakings registered or otherwise organized in a state of European Economic Area or a state with which a treaty on the avoidance of double taxation is concluded.

      

      The Law came into force on 4 August 2009 and shall be applicable from 1 January 2010.

      

      Order No 1B-437 of 17 August 2009 of the Director of the Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania on the Annulment of the Order No 1B-623 of 17 July 2003 of the Director of the Customs Department on the Calculation of the Guarantee Amount in the Cases of Customs Transit Procedure (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 99–4178).

      

      This Order annulled the Order No 1B-623 of 17 July 2003 of the Director of the Customs Department on the Calculation of the Guarantee Amount in the Cases of Customs Transit Procedure.

      

      The Order came into force on 21 August 2009.

      

      Resolution No O3-104 of 20 July 2009 of the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy Amending the Rules of Information Provision by Energy Companies (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 93–4010).

      

      The Resolution expanded the scope of information that is submitted by natural gas enterprises to the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy, i.e. it was indicated that entities which have a licence to transmit (distribute) natural gas, must submit the following information: (i) annual report of gas undertakings on the change of economically reasoned non-current assets of regulated activities during the four months (in the end of the year), (ii) annual report on actual investment and their effectiveness (annually until 1 March). Respectively, the companies operating under a licence to supply natural gas must submit the following: (i) a report on quality indices of natural gas supply (in 20 days after the end of the reporting quarter); (ii) annual report on quality indices of natural gas supply (after the end of the year, in 40 days). Also every year until 1 March the previously mentioned undertakings must provide an interim 12 month financial statement and a report on annual activity and security enforcement.

      

      The Resolution also settled additional requirements on information disclosure as applies to power energy undertakings, e.g., it was indicated that the undertakings operating under a licence of energy transmission are under an obligation to submit to the National Control Commission for Prices and Energy the following data: (i) a report on the additional services provided by the transmission system operator (in 40 days after the end of the reporting quarter); (ii) interim financial statements of 6 months (in 60 days after the end of the second quarter); (iii) annual report on the additional services provided by the transmission system operator (in 40 days after the end of the year); (iv) interim financial statements of 12 months (every year until 1 March). Similar requirements on the provision of information apply to energy enterprises.

      

      Law No XI-375 of 21 July 2009 Amending the Law on Enterprises and Facilities of Strategic Importance to National Security and Other Enterprises Important to Ensuring National Security (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 93–3968).

      

      This Law was adopted in order to assure an effective implementation of state interests in enterprises of strategic importance and in order to harmonise it with the Law on Nuclear Power Plant No X-1231 (Official Gazette (Valstybės žinios) No 76–3004).

      

      The new version of the Law includes the following definitions: “Enterprises and facilities of strategic importance to national security”, “Interests of national security”, “Potential member of the company” and “Special security measures”.

      

      The Law also amended the lists of the state enterprises of strategic importance, private enterprises of strategic importance and enterprises of importance to ensuring national security.

      

      Interconnections of the power system of the Republic of Lithuania with the power systems of the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Sweden indicated in the previously mentioned Republic of Lithuania Law on the Nuclear Power Plant and the new nuclear power plant are here defined as those of particular strategic importance to national security. These objects and investors are subject to special security measures ensuring the national security interests as applied to them.

      

      Moreover, in order to ensure an effective implementation of state interests, the Law settled the assessment of conformity to national security interests of potential participants of enterprises of strategic importance to national security.

      

      Law No XI-404 of 23 July 2009 Supplementing and Amending Articles 109, 127, 129, 130, 141, 152, 188, 203, 206, 256 of the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 93–3993).

      

      The Law established more favourable conditions of entering and terminating of employment contracts, conditions of work organization, also amended and/or supplemented the provisions of the Labour Code on the termination of employment contracts on the initiative of an employer, facilitated some requirements (it is offered to allow to agree upon the following conditions in collective agreements: different severance pays, terms of warnings, a list of employees, whose employment contracts may be terminated only in certain cases, provisions of more practicable settlement with the employee dismissed were established) and the length of overtime.

      

      Order No VA-55 of 3 August 2009 of the Head of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania Amending the Order No VA-55 of 9 June 2006 of the Head of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania on the Approval of the Rules for Land Tax Administration (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 95–4069).

      

      This Order amended Paragraph 79.1 of the Rules for Land Tax Administration defining the procedure for direct provision of declarations to taxpayers.

      

      Amendment was also made to Paragraph 80.3 of the Rules laying down that declarations by EDS shall be provided to the taxpayers who have entered into the electronic data submission agreement with the State Tax Inspectorate.

      

      Besides, amendment to Paragraph 86.2 of the Rules confirmed that the general information about land tax shall be provided by pay telephones.

      

      This Order presented a new wording of the Appendix to the Rules “Request not to Send Land Tax Calculation Declaration” and the form KIT703 for the land tax calculation declaration.

      

      The Order came into force on 9 August 2009.

      

      Lawn No XI-392 of 22 July 2009 Amending and Supplementing Articles 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 21, 26, 34, 35, 43, 45, 51, 53, 62, 63, 64, 80, 81, 93, 101, 102, 106, 125 and 1401 of the Law on Legal Status of Aliens of the Republic of Lithuania and Supplementing the Law with Article 1411 (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 93–3984).

      

      The Law defined the term Invitation for an Alien to Temporarily enter the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, and also amended the list of institutions controlling the stay and living of aliens in the Republic of Lithuania. Moreover, it established a new provision stating that aliens may apply for visas themselves via an authorised representative, also via tour operators and travel agencies, accredited according to the Requirements for General Consular Instructions.

      

      The Law also supplemented the requirements applicable to family members visiting an alien. Furthermore, the Law settled additional grounds for the right of a citizen of a EU Member State and his family member to reside in the Republic of Lithuania: family members of such a citizen, who are not citizens of the European Union Member State have a right to be issued a permit to reside in the European Union if they arrive to reside in the Republic of Lithuania for a period longer than three months in half a year together with a citizen of a Member State of the European Union, who is granted a permit to reside in the Republic of Lithuania or visit him.

      

      The Law settled two new bases for termination of permits to work in the Republic of Lithuania: 1) an alien does not comply with the necessary requirements to be issued a work permit; 2) a contract of employment has not been registered within 2 (two) months.

      

      Order No A1-500 of 14 August 2009 of the Minister of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania on the Approval of Procedures and Conditions of Issuance of Work Permits for Aliens (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 98–4134).

      

      The Order approved a new version of procedures and conditions of issuance of work permits, which regulate the conditions and procedures of issuance, extension of validity time, refusal of issuance or extension of validity time of a work permit to aliens in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, and the conditions of their abolishment, and cases when an alien does not have to acquire a permit. A procedure does not apply to citizens of the European Union and their family members.

      

      The Order approved the following forms of applications: an application to issue a permit to work for an alien in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, an application to issue a work permit to an alien temporarily sent to work in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania as a trainee or intern. A form of a permit to work in the Republic of Lithuania was approved.

      

      Order No 3R-50 of 18 August 2009 of the Director of the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania Amending the Order No 3R-132 of 1 December 2005 of the Director of the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania on Approval of Rules on Appeals and Protests AP/01/2005 (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 101–4238).

      

      The Order approved a new version of Rules on Appeals and Protests, which settle the procedure of submitting and hearing appeals and protests in the Department of Appeal of the State Patent Bureau, the adoption of decisions and the procedure of their appeal. According to the new order, appeals and protests shall be filed in writing at the state order to Applications Receiving and Document Management Division directly or by post. An appeal may be brought in 3 months after the day of dispatching a decision of an expert (the deadline may by extended by two months), and protests may be brought in three months after a registered topography, design, trademark is published in official gazette. An owner of a protested topography, design or trademark must in three month file an answer top the protest. The decision of the Appeal Division may be appealed before the Vilnius County Court. This Law also approved protests forms on topography registration, on design registration and on trademark registration.

      

      The Order came into force on 1 January 2010.

      

      Law No XI-385 of 22 July 2009 Amending Articles 2, 9, 17, 18 of the Law on Personal Income Tax of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3977).

      

      This Amendment introduced the term of “income related to labour relations or relations essentially equivalent to labour relations”. Such income is income related to labour relations or relations essentially equivalent to labour relations as well as an amount received by the owner of an individual company from the individual company or by a full member of a partnership from the partpartnership, provided that it does not exceed the amount on which the state social insurance contributions are paid by the company owner or full member of a partnership in accordance with the Law on State Social Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania.

      

      Amendments were also made to Article 9 defining that income in kind is not considered to be: 1) income received by a resident from a person unrelated by labour or equivalent relations, non-monetary gifts and winnings (prizes), if their value does not exceed LTL 320; 2) benefit of a resident received when a person related by labour or essentially equivalent relations pays for medical treatment services as required by the legislation; 3) working clothes, footwear, tools and other property of a person related by labour or essentially equivalent relations given for use to a resident, provided that they are used for the performance of working functions; 4) benefit of a resident received as another person pays for the resident’s training, upon completion of which he/she acquires post-secondary or higher education and/or qualification; 5) income tax, social insurance contributions and compulsory health insurance contributions paid to the budget for a resident from another person’s funds. These provisions are applied to the calculation and declaration of the income of the tax period 2009.

      

      Moreover, Subparagraph 30 Paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Law was amended with respect to non-taxable income in case of share transfer. The amendment to the Law provides that income from share transfer is not taxable if the resident did not hold for 3 years more than 10% of the shares transferred, i.e. the provision regarding holding a part of shares together with related persons was annulled.

      

      Paragraph 2 Article 18 was also amended providing that not more than 50 percent of the incurred representation costs can be deductible from the resident’s income from individual activity; however, these deductible costs may not exceed 2 percent of the resident’s income from individual activity over a tax period. An amendment was also made to the provision that allowed deductions falling under non-taxable income are not attributed to allowed deductions of a permanent resident of Lithuania engaged in individual activity. The social insurance and compulsory health insurance contributions payable by a resident on the income from individual activity are attributable to allowed deductions in the period when the income from individual activity on which the contributions were calculated, was received or earned.

      

      Paragraph 2 Article 18 of the Law provides that when calculating taxable income from individual activity, by the choice to the resident, instead of costs incurred by the resident engaged in individual activity the amount equal to 30 percent of individual activity income received (earned) may be recognized as allowed deductions (certain restrictions apply).

      

      The provision of this Amendment (except for the amendment to Article 9) shall be applicable when calculating and declaring income the tax year 2010 and subsequently.

      

      The Law came into force on 4 August 2009.

      

      Order of the Head of the State Medicines Control Agency under the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania Approving the Procedure of Submitting Reports on Packages of Medical Preparations Sold in the Republic of Lithuania and the Balance of the Unsold Medical Preparations (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 97–4113).

      

      The Order seeks to enhance pharmaceutical market monitoring and to toughen the control of owners of a marketing right. The Order imposed a necessity to all legal persons (also to subsidiaries of foreign legal persons), who operate under wholesale licences, issued at the procedure settled by the Pharmacy Law of the Republic of Lithuania, or a respective wholesale licence of medical preparations, to submit reports to the State Medicines Control Agency on the amount of packages of medical preparations sold in the Republic of Lithuania and the balance of the unsold medical preparations.

      

      The Order established four types of mandatory reports: (i) on the total amount of packages of medical preparations sold to pharmacies and stationary healthcare organizations during the reporting month; (ii) on the amount of packages of medical preparations sold to stationary healthcare organizations during the reporting month; (iii) on the amount of packages of personalized medical preparations sold during the reporting month; (iv) on the amount of packages of medical preparation not sold on the first day of the month succeeding the reporting month.

      

      The previously mentioned reports must be submitted by legal persons every month until the 10th of the next month to the State Medicines Control Agency at the given email address. In case during the reporting period medical preparations were not sold to pharmacies and/or stationary healthcare organizations this information must also be submitted.

      

      Resolution of 20 August 2009 No 1K-12 of the Securities Commission of the Republic of Lithuania Approving the Contents of a Newsletter, Mandatory in Case of Offering Average Emissions and Cases When Such Newsletter is not Obligatory (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), 2009, No 100–4213).

      

      In its Resolution the Securities Commission of the Republic of Lithuania settled the contents of a newsletter, mandatory for submission in case of offering average emissions and cases when such newsletter is not obligatory. These requirements apply to average emissions of transferable securities, i.e. the issuance of securities of a public company offered in public, the total sales amount of which exceeds LTL 350 thousand but is not higher than LTL 8 million 632 thousand in the period of 12 months, and the public offering of which does not fall under the scope of legislation regulating the market of securities.

      

      Law No XI-389 of 22 July 2009 Amending Articles 2, 4, 7, 8, 9 of the Law on State Social Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3981).

      

      This Amendment to the Law specified the state social insurance contribution basis as well as the calculation basis and payment procedure with regard to individual company owners, full members of partnerships, persons engaged in individual activity and persons receiving sports, performer activity income and income according to author agreements from persons not related by labour or essentially equivalent relations.

      

      Besides, the Amendment equalized the taxation of remuneration payable to authors or subjects of accessory rights for use of works and accessory rights according to awarded licenses to use works or objects of accessory rights, irrespective of the method of payment of the said income (directly or by way of collective administration of rights).

      

      Besides, specification was made of the cases of insuring persons of certain categories with different types of state social insurance.

      

      The Law came into force on 4 August 2009 and shall be applicable when calculating and paying state social insurance contributions for 2010 and subsequent years.

      

       Law No XI-390 of 22 July 2009 Amending Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 29, 31 of the Law on State Social Insurance of the Republic of Lithuania and Article 10 of the Amendment to the Law (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3982).

      

      This Amendment to the Law established that social insurance contributions of persons receiving sports income shall be calculated and paid on such income not exceeding four monthly amounts of insured income of the current year established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

      

      For 2009 social insurance contributions of owners of individual companies, full members of partnerships, and persons engaged in individual activity, not including farmers and their partners, shall be calculated and paid from the annual amount of income received by such persons, indicated in Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of the Law on State Social Insurance, if it does not exceed four monthly amounts of insured income of the current year established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

      

      The Law came into force on 4 August 2009.

      

      Order No V-498 of 28 August 2009 of the Director of the State Social Insurance Fund Board under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour Amending the Order No V-377 of 22 August 20007 of the Director of the State Social Insurance Fund Board under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour on the Approval of the Procedure for Issuing Certificates in Forms E 101 LT, E 102 LT, E 103 LT to Persons Insured in the Republic of Lithuania with the State Social Insurance (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 104–4368).

      

      This Order amended the procedure for issuing certificates in forms E 101 LT, E 102 LT, E 103 LT to persons insured in the Republic of Lithuania with the state social insurance and presented a new wording of paragraphs 35, 37, 39 and 40 of the procedure.

      

      The Order came into force on 1 September 2009.

      

      Law No XI-400 of 23 July 2009Amending Articles 4, 6, 7 and Appendices 1, 2 and Annulment of Appendix 4 of the Law on State Natural Resources of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3989).

      

      The Law amended Article 4 of the Law on State Natural Resources, which specified that tax is imposed on water, including mineral water, used at the medical institutions.

      

      Moreover, the Amendment of the Law settled equal rates of tax for state natural resources to all tax payers (including cases when resources are mined at the expense of the tax payer).

      

      Moreover, amendments were made to Article 7 setting forth that upon expiry of a tax period taxpayers shall fill in annual state natural resource tax returns and submit them to the territorial state tax inspectorate, on the territory of which they are or must be registered as taxpayers.

      

      Besides, amendments were made to appendices 1 and 2 of the Law increasing the rates of tax on mining extracts and tax on water and construction soil.

      

      The Law comes into force on 1 January 2010.

      

      Law No XI-386 of 22 July 2009 Amending Articles 2, 58 and 91 of the Law on Value Added Tax of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3978).

      

      With this Amendment to the Articles 2, 58 and 91 of the Law on Value Added Tax, the value added tax rate was changed from 19 percent to 21 percent.

      

      The Law came into force on 4 August 2009 and is applicable from 1 September 2009.

      

      Law No XI-397 of 23 July 2009 Amending Article 19 of the Law on Value Added Tax of the Republic of Lithuania (Official Gazette (Valstybės Žinios), No 93–3988).

      

      This Amendment to the Law establishes that the preferential VAT rate of 9 percent shall be applicable as follows:

      

      1) until 31 August 2010 to heat energy supplied for the heating of residential premises (including heat energy supplied via the hot water supply system), for hot water supplied to residential premises or cold water for the preparation of hot water and heat energy used in the heating of this water;

      

      2) until 31 December 2010 to books and non-periodical information publications (including textbooks, exercise books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books, information brochures, photo and reproduction albums, children‘s books with pictures, drawing and coloring books, printed or handwritten notes, maps, schemes and drawings, excluding calendars, notebooks and other similar printed matter).

      

      The Law came into force and is applicable from 1 September 2009.