Support measures for business
The Ministry of Finance has presented an aid package worth EUR 2 billion for companies affected by the coronavirus, who may already apply for additional funding.
The package includes grants, guarantees and other financial instruments. Companies facing difficulties due to the coronavirus and currently lacking working capital should review their loan repayment schedules and contact financial institutions (banks, leasing or factoring companies, credit unions, crowdfunding platforms, etc.), who will provide them with all the necessary information.
Initiatives adopted by the Ministry of Finance:
The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation has presented an aid package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as large companies facing difficulties due to the coronavirus. Initiatives adopted by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation:
Tax payments
Automatic postponement of tax payments
The State Tax Inspectorate (the STI) announced a list of taxpayers that may have been directly affected by the coronavirus. You can check the list here (currently available only in Lithuanian). From the 16th of March 2020 until the end of the state of emergency and quarantine period, all taxpayers listed in the announcement will be automatically (with no additional appeal to the STI) exempt from:
Individual requests for the postponement of tax payments
Taxpayers who have not been included in the list, but have also been affected by the coronavirus and
would like to postpone tax payments (i.e. conclude a tax loan agreement or use a tax recovery or
interest payment), can submit a simplified application to the STI.
The taxpayer needs to:
Tax loan agreements
A tax loan agreement can only be concluded when the taxpayer has an obligation to pay taxes (i.e. has submitted tax return forms and the obligation to pay taxes has occurred before the 16th March). After the end of the state of emergency, taxpayers on the announced list will have 2 months to enter into a tax loan agreement. When the tax loan agreement has been concluded, tax payment may be postponed until the end of the state of emergency and should be paid according to an agreed timetable (if the taxpayer does not request an increased payment). Those who already have such agreements may submit a request to change their tax loan schedule and terms.
Other postponed tax obligations
The deadline for declaring and paying annual personal income tax is postponed until the 1st of July
2020. The start of the period for the filling of personal income tax returns was postponed and
commenced on the 15th of April.
The term for the repayment of personal income tax overpayments remains unchanged. Taxpayers
who have correctly and punctually filed their returns will be refunded by the 31st of July 2020.
Real estate and land taxes
The Municipality of Vilnius adopted a decision valid from the 16th of March 2020 until the end of the state of emergency and quarantine period:
It is important here to note that each municipality retains the right to individually decide whether the real estate and land taxes should be reduced due to the state of emergency or quarantine. For more detailed information, please contact the relevant local municipality.
Request for state subsidies
All employers, regardless of their economic sector, are entitled to state subsidies for their employees’
salaries if idle time was announced due to the state of emergency and quarantine under Article 47
part 1 (2) of the Labour Code.
To qualify for state subsidies, employers also need to fulfill the following additional requirements:
The amount of state subsidies
An employer has the right to select from two models as regards their eligible amount of state subsidy for idle time:
The duration of subsidies
State subsidies shall be paid from the date when the idle time was announced due to the state of
emergency and quarantine.
Employers must retain at least 50 % of all employee positions (workplace) for which state subsidies
were paid for at least 3 months after the end of the subsidy payments. Otherwise, the employer will
need to return the subsidy in full amount.
If you have any questions regarding this or any of the other initiatives offered to those affected by the current disruption, please contact Kristina Alekniene at kristina.alekniene@inova.lt.