Agnė Jasinskaitė
UAB Nordgain, which is Lithuania’s fastest growing financial services company, is expanding its service selection. Starting from March, the company offers fiscal agent services to businesses operating in or outside the EU and having the duty to pay VAT in Lithuania. According to Agnė Jasinskaitė, Director General of Nordgain, the company has been thoroughly preparing for this step.
‘With the Lithuanian economy further integrating into global trade and financial networks, we can see an increasing interest in this service among existing and potential foreign clients. By exporting accounting services abroad, we aim to create the maximum added value and want therefore to meet client expectations and offer the maximum selection of services possible,’ said Director General of Nordgain.
As a fiscal agent, Nordgain will register foreign companies as tax and VAT payers in Lithuania, represent these companies at the State Tax Inspectorate, and assist them in getting VAT refunds.
According to Ms Jasinskaitė, the fiscal agent service in Lithuania is only provided by very experienced companies since this service is associated with certain risks. One of the risks is that a fiscal agent must assume joint liability for the payment of taxes. This means that in case a client declares VAT on sales but fails to pay it, the fiscal agent must pay such VAT on behalf of the client.
‘In the process of providing the fiscal agent service, we must manage all financial operations of the client, provide consultancy to the client, and acts as the client’s representative. Our company has accumulated a vast risk management experience and we have developed a culture of solid trust with our clients and I am therefore convinced that we can assume additional obligations. We will certainly deal with each situation on a case-by-case basis and look for the best solutions and opportunities,’ said Director General of Nordgain.
The activities of fiscal agents are regulated by the rules approved by order of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania. The rules provide for certain requirements for companies wishing to provide this type of service.
Foreign taxable persons which supply goods and/or provide services in Lithuania as well as acquire in Lithuania goods from other EU countries must be registered as VAT payers in Lithuania.
Companies operating in the EU may register as VAT payers in Lithuania either independently or through a fiscal agent. Companies operating outside of the EU may only register as VAT payers through a division operating in Lithuania; if they do not have such a division, then they can avail of the fiscal agent service.
When registering as VAT payers in Lithuania, foreign undertakings must present their company registration certificate and a certificate of registration as a VAT payer in the country where the corporate headquarters are situated. The documents must be accompanied by a translation into Lithuania and must be notarised.
In 2015, service exports of Nordgain accounted for 27% of the company’s total sales. The results for the first half of 2016 show that service exports accounted for nearly 30% of the total sales. ‘Our company plans an active expansion abroad and we therefore continue to consistently raise the number of services offered, with major focus on quality and professionalism,’ said Agnė Jasinskaitė.
