Lithuania — E.sąskaita, VMI and i.MAS

Lithuania launched the E.sąskaita.lt platform as early as 2016 and made it mandatory for B2G on 1 July 2017, ahead of EU Directive 2014/55. The i.MAS fiscal reporting (i.SAF for invoices, i.VAZ for transport) adds an indirect CTC layer. PEPPOL has been accepted since 2020 as an alternative.

Regulatory timeline

• 1 January 2002 — LR PVM įstatymas. New Lithuanian VAT Act post-EU accession, lays the foundations of the electronic invoice and 10-year retention.
• 1 October 2016 — Mandatory i.SAF. i.SAF (Subsystem of Standard Audit File for VAT) becomes mandatory for all VAT-registered Lithuanian companies: monthly reporting of issued and received invoices to VMI. This is a quasi B2B e-invoicing mandate.
• 1 April 2017 — E.sąskaita pilot. IVPK launches the E.sąskaita.lt platform in pilot phase with a sample of public suppliers.
• 1 July 2017 — B2G E.sąskaita mandate. The Public Procurement Act is amended: all public sector suppliers must issue via E.sąskaita.lt. Proprietary Lithuanian XML format (UBL 2.1 derived).
• 1 October 2017 — Mandatory i.VAZ. i.VAZ (Subsystem of Standard Audit File for Transport) adds transport slip reporting, in line with i.SAF.
• 1 January 2020 — PEPPOL acceptance. The Ministry of Finance accepts PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 as an alternative to E.sąskaita XML for B2G; CITUS becomes LT PEPPOL Authority.
• 1 January 2024 — i.SAF-T for SMEs. Extension of SAF-T (i.SAF-T) to SMEs above annual threshold, comprehensive structured accounting reporting on top of i.SAF.
• 2026-2027 — Announced B2B mandate. The Ministry of Finance and VMI announced in March 2026 their intention to mandate B2B e-invoicing in line with ViDA, schedule under consultation.

Deep dives — 10 dedicated pages

Ten dedicated pages drill into every dimension of the Lithuanian e-invoicing ecosystem — the pioneering reforms (RKDS online cash registers 2014, i.SAF universal SAF-T VAT 2016, e.sąskaita B2G 2017, ViDA 2028 roadmap), the technical specs (VMI authority, Registrų centras identifiers, PVM regimes), and the real-world B2B usage (Maxima/IKI/Rimi retail, Achema/Orlen/Ignitis industrial, e-Sveikata health). Lithuania is the quiet pioneer of post-fact CTC.

Pioneering reforms

• e.sąskaita — mandatory B2G since 2017 · National B2G e-invoicing platform operated by VĮ Registrų centras. Mandate in force on 1 July 2017 — 21 months before the EU 2014/55/EU directive deadline. UBL 2.1 / EN 16931 + PEPPOL ICD 0200.
• i.MAS / i.SAF — world's first universal SAF-T VAT (2016) · i.MAS system operated by VMI. i.SAF module in force on 1 October 2016 — world's first universal SAF-T VAT mandate. 15 months before Poland JPK, 21 months before Hungary RTIR, 9 months before Spain SII.
• RKDS — first EU mandate of online cash registers (2 Jan 2014) · Registro kasos duomenų sistema in force on 2 January 2014 — first EU mandate of real-time cash-register reporting. 4 years before Italy SdI, Hungary RTIR; 5 years before Portugal SAFT-PT real-time.
• ViDA Lithuania 2028 — roadmap without disruption · Finansų ministerija B2B consultation 2026-2027, optional B2B mandate expected 1 January 2028, strict EU cross-border 1 July 2030. Front-runner position thanks to existing i.MAS / RKDS / e.sąskaita.

Technical specs

• VMI — tax authority and e.VMI portal · Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija under Finansų ministerija. e.VMI portal (eservis.vmi.lt), full i.MAS operation, automatic i.APS pre-fill, Lietuvos bankas bank-flow cross-check. VAT gap ~14% in 2024.
• Registrų centras — įmonės kodas, asmens kodas, PVM kodas · Single state enterprise running JAR (business register), civil status, cadastre, mortgages, PVM register. įmonės kodas 9 digits, asmens kodas 11 digits, PVM kodas LT+9 or 12, PEPPOL ICD 0200.
• VAT (PVM) regimes — 21 / 9 / 5 / 0% · Standard 21% stable since Sep 2009, reduced 9% (district heating, books, transport), super-reduced 5% (medicines, periodicals), zero 0%. EUR 45K registration threshold over 12-month rolling window. M+25 PVM deadline.

Real-world B2B usage

• Retail EDIFACT — Maxima + IKI + Rimi + Lidl + Norfa · Maxima Grupė (only Baltic-scale retailer that stayed locally-owned — founded 1992 in Vilnius), IKI (Rewe), Rimi (ICA), Lidl, Norfa, Aibe. GS1 Lithuania EANCOM 2002 S4, Tieto Evry + Telia VANs.
• Industrial EDI — Achema + Ignitis + Orlen Lietuva + Telia · Achema (fertilisers, Jonava), Orlen Lietuva (Mažeikiai refinery, ex-Mažeikių Nafta / Yukos / Williams), Ignitis Grupė (energy OMX Vilnius), Telia Lietuva, Linas Agro, Snaigė, Akmenės cementas. OFTP2 + EDIFACT + PEPPOL.
• e-Sveikata — digital health and e-Receptas · National e-Sveikata platform since 2014, e-Receptas module (e-prescription) since 2015, HL7 v2 → FHIR R4 migration. VLK (health fund) integration + MyHealth@EU cross-border since 2022.

Technical schema

Lithuania has two pivot formats for B2G: the historic E.sąskaita XML (UBL 2.1 derived with Lithuanian extensions) and PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 (standard European UBL 2.1). i.MAS uses proprietary XML for fiscal reporting.

• PEPPOL Customization ID: urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0 — unmodified standard profile.
• Įmonės kodas: 9 digits with modulo 11 checksum, assigned by Registrų centras; PEPPOL schemeID 0200.
• Lithuanian VAT ID: LT + 9 digits (legal person) or 12 digits (VAT-liable natural person), VIES validation for intra-EU.
• VAT rates: 21 % standard, 9 % reduced (books, newspapers, OTC medicines, passenger transport, hospitality), 5 % super-reduced (prescription medicines, press), 0 % (exports, intra-EU B2B).
• i.SAF format: mandatory monthly XML transmitted to imas.vmi.lt before the 20th of the following month; contains issued and received invoices with HT/VAT/TTC amounts, counterpart VAT IDs, operation codes.

Structure of a PEPPOL BIS Billing 3.0 invoice to VMI (E.sąskaita alternative):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Invoice xmlns="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:Invoice-2"
         xmlns:cac="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonAggregateComponents-2"
         xmlns:cbc="urn:oasis:names:specification:ubl:schema:xsd:CommonBasicComponents-2">
  <cbc:CustomizationID>urn:cen.eu:en16931:2017#compliant#urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:3.0</cbc:CustomizationID>
  <cbc:ProfileID>urn:fdc:peppol.eu:2017:poacc:billing:01:1.0</cbc:ProfileID>
  <cbc:ID>LT-2026-00000142</cbc:ID>
  <cbc:IssueDate>2026-04-15</cbc:IssueDate>
  <cbc:DueDate>2026-05-15</cbc:DueDate>
  <cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>380</cbc:InvoiceTypeCode>
  <cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>EUR</cbc:DocumentCurrencyCode>
  <cbc:BuyerReference>VMI-2026-UZSAK-00789</cbc:BuyerReference>
  <cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
    <cac:Party>
      <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="0200">123456789</cbc:EndpointID>
      <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
        <cbc:RegistrationName>Ediverse Demo Lietuva UAB</cbc:RegistrationName>
        <cbc:CompanyID schemeID="0200">123456789</cbc:CompanyID>
      </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
      <cac:PartyTaxScheme>
        <cbc:CompanyID>LT100012345678</cbc:CompanyID>
        <cac:TaxScheme><cbc:ID>VAT</cbc:ID></cac:TaxScheme>
      </cac:PartyTaxScheme>
    </cac:Party>
  </cac:AccountingSupplierParty>
  <cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
    <cac:Party>
      <cbc:EndpointID schemeID="0200">188659752</cbc:EndpointID>
      <cac:PartyLegalEntity>
        <cbc:RegistrationName>Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija (VMI)</cbc:RegistrationName>
      </cac:PartyLegalEntity>
    </cac:Party>
  </cac:AccountingCustomerParty>
  <cac:TaxTotal>
    <cbc:TaxAmount currencyID="EUR">210.00</cbc:TaxAmount>
  </cac:TaxTotal>
  <cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>
    <cbc:LineExtensionAmount currencyID="EUR">1000.00</cbc:LineExtensionAmount>
    <cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">1000.00</cbc:TaxExclusiveAmount>
    <cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount currencyID="EUR">1210.00</cbc:TaxInclusiveAmount>
    <cbc:PayableAmount currencyID="EUR">1210.00</cbc:PayableAmount>
  </cac:LegalMonetaryTotal>
</Invoice>

Submission flow

Two main channels for B2G: the central E.sąskaita.lt platform (web or REST/SOAP API) operated by IVPK, or the 4-corner PEPPOL network via a commercial Access Point (NEVDA, Telema, Pagero). The recipient receives the e-invoice in their ERP (NEVDA SAP, Microsoft Dynamics).

┌──────────────┐    ┌────────────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
│ Supplier     │───>│ E.sąskaita.lt      │───>│ Contracting  │
│ (ERP, UBL    │    │ (public portal,    │    │ authority    │
│  or XML)     │    │ Information        │    │ (NEVDA SAP/  │
│              │    │ Society Develop.   │    │  Microsoft)  │
│              │    │ Committee — IVPK)  │    │              │
└──────────────┘    └─────────┬──────────┘    └──────┬───────┘
                              │ or PEPPOL AS4         │
                              ▼                       ▼
                  ┌────────────────────┐    ┌──────────────┐
                  │ i.MAS (i.SAF,      │    │ Accounting   │
                  │ i.VAZ, i.SAF-T)    │    │ system       │
                  │ — fiscal reporting │    │              │
                  └────────────────────┘    └──────────────┘

In parallel, i.MAS reporting runs monthly to imas.vmi.lt: i.SAF for invoices, i.VAZ for transport, i.SAF-T for extended SME accounting. This is what makes the Lithuanian ecosystem close to an indirect CTC — every B2B invoice is known to VMI within the month.

Validation

• VMI — Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija: vmi.lt — State Tax Inspectorate, VAT portal, rules, audits.
• E.sąskaita.lt: esaskaita.lt — central B2G platform operated by IVPK, API documentation, validator.
• i.MAS — imas.vmi.lt: imas.vmi.lt — subsystems i.SAF, i.VAZ, i.SAF-T for fiscal reporting.
• Registrų centras: registrucentras.lt — Lithuanian Centre of Registers, Įmonės kodas assignment, business register, real estate register.
• RIKS — Digital Certification Centre: eid.lt — Digital Certification Centre, Mobile Signature / Smart-ID / m.parašas qualified signature.

Common pitfalls

1. i.SAF monthly reporting — strict 20th-of-the-month deadline. i.SAF reporting must be submitted at the latest on the 20th of the month following the relevant period. Delay = progressive penalties. Automate i.SAF export from the ERP at the beginning of the month to have a margin in case of imas.vmi.lt validation error.
2. E.sąskaita XML vs PEPPOL BIS — by contracting authority. Some authorities accept both, others prefer one or the other. Verify in the contract or via the E.sąskaita.lt API the recipient's preference. Submit in the wrong format = silent rejection.
3. Įmonės kodas modulo 11 checksum. The business code uses specific modulo 11: if checksum = 10, the algorithm switches to a second weighting [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Implement the double attempt or use an official Registrų centras library to avoid rejections.
4. VAT ID 9 vs 12 digits by entity. The Lithuanian VAT ID has 9 digits for legal persons and 12 for natural persons (sole traders). Don't confuse; verify via VIES or registrucentras.lt before issuing.
5. 10-year archiving Buhalterinės apskaitos įstatymas. Retention is 10 years for invoices and accounting documents (Accounting Act, § 19). The structured XML format (E.sąskaita or PEPPOL UBL) must be kept in addition to the visual PDF. Archiving must include monthly i.SAF confirmations.

Cross-links

• EN 16931 — European semantic comparison (PEPPOL BIS 3.0 compliant).
• PEPPOL — European network accepted alongside E.sąskaita.
• Estonia — Baltic neighbour with PEPPOL and e-Residency.
• Latvia — Baltic neighbour with PEPPOL B2G 2025.
• Poland — neighbour with KSeF B2B mandate 2026.
• Official sources: vmi.lt, esaskaita.lt, imas.vmi.lt.