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SAF-T requirements

According to the current rules, the controlling authorities (e.g. State Tax Inspectorate, Customs Office, Financial Crime Investigation Service, Social Insurance Fund Board) will have the right to request providing them with accounting data in the form of SAF-T file. Entities must be prepared to provide SAF-T file by the following deadlines:

• Since 1 January 2016 (recommended for all private legal entities, public sector entities and other non-profit legal entities, foreign legal entities’ branches and agencies);
• Since 1 January 2017 (mandatory for all profit seeking private legal entities, whose net sales revenue exceeded 8 million EUR in 2015, excluding the exceptions stated below);
• Since 1 January 2018 (mandatory for all profit seeking private legal entities, whose net sales revenue exceeded 700 thousand EUR in 2016, excluding the exceptions stated below);
• Since 1 January 2019 (mandatory for all profit seeking private legal entities, whose net sales revenue exceeded 45 thousand EUR in 2017, excluding the exceptions stated below);
• Since 1 January 2020 (mandatory for all profit seeking private legal entities, whose net sales revenue exceeded 45 thousand EUR during the period preceding the last financial year).

As soon as the obligation is triggered once, the accounting data needs to continue to be provided in the SAF-T file, regardless of net sales revenue of the subsequent accounting periods.

Accounting data can be provided in the form of SAF-T file also to other internal and external data information users (auditors, consultants, shareholders and others).

Who is exempted from obligation to prepare and provide SAF-T files?

Legal entities specified in part 1 of Article 42 of the Law on the Bank of Lithuania:

• Banks;
• Foreign banks’ branches, established in the Republic of Lithuania;
• Central Credit Union;
• Credit unions;
• Insurance companies;
• Reinsurance companies;
• Branches of foreign insurance and reinsurance companies, established in the Republic of Lithuania;
• The insurance broker companies;
• Branches of foreign insurance and reinsurance intermediaries, established in the Republic of Lithuania;
• Electronic money institutions;
• Electronic money institutions’ intermediaries;
• Branches of foreign electronic money institutions, established in the Republic of Lithuania;
• Financial brokerage firms;
• Financial advisor companies;
• Operators of regulated markets;
• Management companies;
• Investment companies;
• Depositories;
• Foreign financial brokerage firms;
• Branches of management companies, established in the Republic of Lithuania;
• Pension associations;
• Controlling investment companies and issuers;
• Payment institutions and payment institutions’ intermediaries;
• Consumer credit lenders;
• Consumer credit lenders’ intermediaries;
• Payment and securities settlement system operators;
• State company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” („Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas“);
• European economic interest groups;
• Entities, which are subject to bankruptcy proceedings or bankruptcy proceedings performed under the non-court order (exempted from the obligation to be prepared to provide SAF-T files only for a transitional period from 2017 to 2019).