RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
4 September 2000 
 (00-3443) 
Working Party on the  
Accession of Lithuania  
 
 
 
DRAFT REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON 
THE ACCESSION OF LITHUANIA 
TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
 
Revision  
 
INTRODUCTION 
1. The Government of Lithuania a pplied for accession to the General Agreement on Tariffs and 
Trade (GATT 1947) in January 1994.  At its mee ting on 22-23 February 1994, the GATT 1947 Council 
of Representatives establ ished a Working Party to examine the application of the Government of 
Lithuania to accede to the General Agreement un der Article XXXIII of the General Agreement.  
Following the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, Li thuania requeste d accession to the World Trade 
Organization (WTO) under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreemen t Establishing the World Trade 
Organization.  In accordance with the Decision adopted by the WTO General Council on 31 January 1995, the existing GATT 1947 Accession  Working Party was transformed into a WTO 
Accession Working Party.  The terms of referenc e and the membership of the Working Party are 
reproduced in document WT/ACC/LTU/1/Rev.7. 
2. The Working Party met on 10 November 1995; 25-26 March and 7 October 1996;  
26 March 1997 and ......  under the Chairman ship of Mr. Peter Witt (Germany).  
DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED 3. The Working Party had before it, to serve as a basis for its discussions, a Memorandum on the 
Foreign Trade Regime of Lithuani a (L/7551), the questions submitted by Members on the foreign trade 
regime of Lithuania together with the replies theret o and other information provided by the Lithuanian 
authorities (WT/ACC/LTU/2 and Addendum 1;  WT/ACC/LTU/4;  WT/ACC/LTU/5;  
WT/ACC/LTU/7 and Addendum 1;   WT/ACC/LTU/9;  WT/ACC/LTU/10;  WT/ACC/LTU/12;  
WT/ACC/LTU/15;  WT/A CC/LTU/16;  WT/ACC/LTU /17;  WT/ACC/LTU/19;  WT/ACC/LTU/22 and 
Revision 1;  WT/ACC/LTU/23;  WT/ACC/LTU/24;  WT/ACC/LTU/26;  WT/ACC/LTU/27;  
WT/ACC/LTU/32;  WT/ACC/LTU/33;   WT/ACC/LTU/35;  WT/ACC/LTU /36, including Revisions 1, 
2 and 3;  WT/ACC/LTU/41;  WT/ACC/LTU/42;  WT/ACC/LTU/43;  WT/ACC/LTU/48;…...), 
including the legislative texts and other documentation listed in Annex I. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 2  
 
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS 
4. In his introductory statement, the representative of Lithuania noted that  his country was small 
and heavily dependent on foreign trade.  Since re storation of independence in 1990, the centrally 
planned system in force had been effectively replaced by a market-oriented economy.  Lithuania had established a new banking system and its own cu rrency and was proceeding on fundamental economic 
reforms, including the enactment of new legislative measures, privatization, deregulation of prices and 
trade, in close cooperation with international in stitutions.  However, ec onomic transformation could 
only be successful if supported by integration into  the world economy and the international trading 
system based on the principles of the WTO. 
5. Lithuania's foreign trade patterns had also change d significantly since 1990.  The share of trade 
with countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States had declined substantially while trade flows 
with other countries had increased.  Lithuania's ove rall balance of payments was in surplus despite a 
trade deficit.  Lithuania had resist ed protectionism in a period of difficult economic transition.  The 
foreign trade regime would be libe ralized further.  Several trade ag reements had been signed, reducing 
barriers to trade, and other agreem ents were under negotiation.  Accession to the WTO was a matter of 
highest priority as Lithuania sought integration into  the world economy on the basis of internationally 
recognized rules, providing a stable  and predictable environment and a precise legal framework for trade 
among nations.  Lithuania's accession would also have  positive repercussions for its trading partners. 
6. In their opening remarks, memb ers of the Working Party welcomed the request from Lithuania 
to accede to the WTO.  Lithuania's integration into the world economy and trade on the basis of 
multilaterally agreed principles and rules was seen as an important element underpinning economic and 
institutional reforms in Lithuania. 
7. The Working Party reviewed the economic policies  and foreign trade regime of Lithuania and 
the possible terms of a draft Protoc ol of Accession to the WTO.  Th e views expressed by members of 
the Working Party on the various aspects of Lithua nia's foreign trade regime, and on the terms and 
conditions of Lithuania's accession to the WTO are summarized below in paragraphs 8 to [184].  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 3 
 
 
ECONOMIC POLICIES 
Monetary and Fiscal Policy  
8. The representative of Lithuania recalled that the direction of macro-economic policies during 
1995 to 1997 had been laid down in a Memorandum of State Economic Policy of the Republic of 
Lithuania, a copy of which had been provided to th e Working Party.  More sp ecifically, he explained 
that the tax system consisted of corporate profit tax;  personal income tax;  valu e added tax;  excises;  
social security tax;  taxes on natural resources, oil and gas;  pollution tax;  cu stoms duties;  a tax on fixed 
property;  road tax;  land taxes;  stamp tax (State fees and charges, fo r example, for obtaining licences);  
and other taxes (inheritance tax, consular fees, et c.).  The tax on pollution was meant to encourage 
investment in clean (environmenta lly-friendly) technologies.  The ta x was levied on legal and natural 
persons polluting the environment.  The tax was specif ic and its level was based on the quantity, degree 
of harm and type of pollution.  Taxes on fixed property and the road tax had been introduced in 1995.  
The road tax was levied on enterprise revenue (0-1 per cent) except for banks which paid a percentage 
of the margin earned. 
9. Monetary policy was determined in the context of Lithuania' s currency board arrangement, 
implemented by the Bank of Lithuania in accordance with the Law on the Credibil ity of the Litas, which 
had entered into force on 1 April 1994.  Since 1997,  the Bank of Lithuania had followed a monetary 
policy strategy approved by its Board and outlined in  the Monetary Policy Programme for 1997-2000.  
The currency board arrangement whereby the Litas wa s pegged to the U.S. dollar was being continued 
to anchor Lithuania's macroeconomic policies. 
Foreign Exchange and Payments  
10. The representative of Lithuania informed the Working Party that  his country had recorded a 
steadily rising deficit in its merchandise tr ade of US$324 million in 1994, US$943 million in 1995, 
US$1,204 million in 1996, US$1,784 million in 1997, US$2,083 million in 1998, and US$1,795 million 
in 1999.  Monetary and foreign exchange policies in Lithuania had been based on a currency board 
arrangement since 1 April 1994.  The national currency  - the Litas - was pegged to the US Dollar.  
Lithuania's acceptance of the require ments of Article VIII of the Arti cles of Agreement of the IMF, 
providing for currency convertibility for current in ternational transactions , constituted formal 
confirmation of the maintenance of convertibility of th e Litas.  According to a statement by the Bank of 
Lithuania of 13 October 1999, the Lithuanian Gove rnment intended to modify the currency board 
arrangement by basing it on the Euro, although the precise moment for doing so would depend on 
developments in the Lithuanian economy.  Lithuania maintained no restrictions on capital transfers.  
Residents could open accounts in foreign banks and n on-residents were allowed to keep accounts with WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 4  
 
commercial banks in Lithuania.  Current accounts and other types of accounts in any currency could be 
opened and maintained without restriction. 
Investment Regime
 
11. The representative of Lithuania said that forei gn and domestic investment was as a rule treated 
equally, except that foreign investment was prohibited in areas related to national security and defence, 
and the organizing of lotteries in accordance with the new Law on Inve stment of 7 July 1999, which had 
replaced the Law on Foreign Capital Investments in the Republic of Lith uania.  Further, in June 1996, 
Parliament (the Seimas) had approved an amendm ent to the Constitution allowing foreigners to 
purchase certain types of land (non-agricultural pl ots required for the constr uction and operation of 
buildings and facilities necessary  for their direct activity). 
12. Following its replacement by the Law on Investme nt in July 1999, the tax advantages for 
investors foreseen in the previous Law on Foreign Capital Invest ments had been maintained in various 
other tax laws.  Taxation of foreign enterprises woul d continue to be no less favourable than the rules 
applied to domestic natural and legal persons.  L ithuania offered certain tax holidays.  Enterprises 
established between 1 August 1995 and 1 April 1997, with fo reign investment of minimum 
US$2 million were exempt from profit (income) tax for the first three years and subject to a 50 per cent 
tax reduction for the following thr ee years, starting from the day the first profit was achieved.  Domestic 
and foreign small enterprises (number of employees no t exceeding 50 and annual sales of no more than 
1 million Litas) received tax reductions amounting to  50 per cent.  Producers of agricultural products 
were assessed profit tax at the ra te of 10 per cent provided the ag ricultural items accounted for minimum 
50 per cent of total sales of the enterprise.  As from 1 April 1997, Lithuania exempted all profit of 
domestic or foreign enterprises spent on capital inve stments from profit (income) tax.  Foreign investors 
had the right, having paid the taxes, to transfer th e profit, income or dividends belonging to them by 
virtue of ownership to a foreign country without any restrictions.  If an ente rprise was under liquidation 
by its founders, the assets or a por tion thereof corresponding to the amount of foreign investment which, 
on the decision of the shareholders, were due to fore ign investors, could be taken out of the country tax 
free (covering physical and financial assets) upon pa yment of corporate taxes due to the State and 
settlement of accounts with creditors and employees.   Eligibility for these benefits was not contingent 
upon export performance or use of domestic inputs in the production process.  Since 1 October 1998, an 
investor investing not less than 200 million Lita s within three years coul d request an investment 
agreement with the Government.  The agreement confirme d that direct taxes stipulated in the tax laws in 
force at the time of investment c ould not be increased for this enterprise for a period of five years from 
the time of the investment.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 5 
 
 
State Ownership and Privatization  
13. The representative of Lithuania explained that  privatization had initially been implemented 
through investment vouchers which could be used to purchase State property, residential housing, 
agricultural enterprises and repurchas ing of land.  Most of this priv atization, which allowed bids by 
employees and management, had proceeded without fore ign participation.  Marking the second stage of 
the privatization process, a Law on Privatization of State-Owned a nd Municipal Property had entered 
into force in September 1995, providing for privatiz ation through public subscription of shares;  public 
auction;  public tender;  sale through direct negotia tion;  capital lease;  and the creation of a State 
Privatization Agency, which had become the St ate Property Fund on 11 May 1998.  The State had 
retained stakes in some farms or enterprises ( 30-90 per cent) until they were fully privatized in 
connection with their transf ormation into joint-stock companies duri ng the first stage of privatization.  
Assets sold by public auction were privatized in th eir entirety and the State generally did not retain 
ownership in privatized enterpri ses.  The new Law on Privatization of 4 November 1997, which had 
replaced the 1995 Law, sti pulated that foreign and domestic investors would participate in the 
privatization process on an equal basis,  both in the form of direct and por tfolio investments.  Pursuant to 
the 1995 Law, the Government had established a list of  enterprises in agro-pro cessing, agro-services, 
industrial and other sectors to be subject to auctions and tendering.   The list established in 1997 had 
comprised 1,114 enterprises, including enterprises part-privatized at the first stage of pr ivatization, and 
large-scale enterprises previously excluded from privatization such as energy, communications and 
transport services.  As of 1 January 2000, the numb er of enterprises offere d for privatization had 
increased to 3,100 entities. 
14. Privatization in agriculture, including the restor ation of land to former  owners, had proceeded 
despite certain legal problems (only the State and natural pers ons could own land), uneconomic 
partitioning of land and other main a ssets, and lack of capital for family farming.  The general policy in 
this area was to offer preferenti al bidding terms to agricultural pr oducers.  Farmers had been offered 
favourable terms in the privatization of some pro cessing industries (meat, grain, dairies and sugar 
factories).  In most food processing sectors 90 per cent or more of the a ssets had already be en privatized.  
Regarding privatization in the sugar sector, Lithuani a had four sugar refineries, all of which had been 
transformed into joint-stock companies.  These had been fully privatized in Summer 1998, when a 
private investor purchased the remaining State share in all four companies. 
15. As a result of these various privatization e fforts, by 1 January 1999 Lithuania had wholly 
privatized all State-owned farms (not including agricu ltural processing enterpri ses).  By 1 January 2000, 
Lithuania had made significant progress in the priva tization of 218 agro-process ing (meat, milk, grain, 
crop selection, etc.) and agro-service enterprises that had been identified for privatization and expected WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 6  
 
to complete the process by the end of 2000.  The 218 enterprises represented the entire share of all State-
owned assets in agro-processing.  The State had ex cluded from the privatizatio n process its stakes in 
(i) 19 experimental farms at research institutions of agricultural science studies;   (ii) 54 teaching farms 
at agriculture schools;  and (iii) ei ght farms of pure-strain enterprises.   However, the State was not the 
sole provider of agriculture research and technical facilities.  Private companies were free to engage in 
such activities, and there were no restrictions or special require ments on imports of such products and 
services. 
16. Significant progress had also been made in pr ivatizing industry.  During 1991-1995 (the first 
stage of privatization), approximate ly 88 per cent of the industrial (g oods) enterprises, 97 per cent of the 
services enterprises, 86 per cent of the transpor tation enterprises and 82 per cent of the commerce 
enterprises identified for privatization, had been privatized.  Enterprises not privatized or partially 
privatized during the first stage had been included in a new list of enterprises earmarked for privatization 
at the second stage.  During 1996-1999, privatizat ion had been completed for 25 per cent of the 
identified industrial enterprises, 28 per cent of th e transportation enterprises and 36 per cent of the 
commerce enterprises.  The process had been given new impetus by the decision to allow privatization 
in industrial and non-agricultural service sectors to take place on a cash (rather than voucher) basis, 
allowing the participation of foreigners.  As part of the plan to privatize on a cash basis the State 
intended to sell shares in joint-stock companies, re tained during the first stage of privatization, to 
qualified bidders.  The Lithuanian Government had built on its success in privatizing small and medium 
sized enterprises to draw up plans for the privatiz ation of 14 large and strategic enterprises in key 
industries and services sect ors (energy, communications, transportati on, etc.).  Privatization was carried 
out on a cash basis and was open to foreign and domes tic investors alike.  In addition, the Government 
had undertaken programmes to privat ize the two remaining State comme rcial banks in Lithuania - the 
Lithuanian Savings Bank and the Lit huanian Agriculture Bank.  These currently State-owned enterprises 
and banks represented the bulk of the remaining capita l to be transferred to private ownership.  The 
process of privatizing large State enterprises, includ ing banks, was expected to continue for some time.  
The largest privatization contract in the Baltic States had been concluded on 7 July 1998 with the 
purchase of 60 per cent of "Lietuvas Telekomas" (Lithuanian Telecom) by Amber Teleholdings, a 
consortium owned by Telia (Sweden) and Sonera (Finland).  The most important privatization 
agreement had been concluded on 29 October 1999, wh en the U.S. company "Williams International" 
had bought 33 per cent of the shar es of the State-owned oil refine ry, joint stock company "Mazeikiu 
Nafta".  A hotel ("Lietuva"), a sea cargo company ("Klaipedos Smelte"), a ship repair yard ("Vakaru laivu remontas"), a Lithuanian shipping company ("Kl aipedos juru kroviniu kompanija"), an insurance 
company ("Lietuvos draudimas"), and the joint stoc k company "Lietuvos kuras" (Lithuanian Fuel) had 
also been privatized, and other enterprises were in the process of privatization.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 7 
 
 
17. A Law of 28 December 1994 provided a list of Stat e enterprises not to be privatized until the 
year 2000.  The original list had been reexamined , and the authorities had decided to proceed on the 
basis of a more specific sub-division of these ente rprises, hence the list had been broken down into 960 
entities active in areas such as recreation, transpor tation, pharmacies and postal services.  The list had 
subsequently been reduced under an amendment to this Law on 3 April 1997, and currently comprised 
59 entities, including large-scale entities such as Lithuanian Post, railways and their infrastructure, 
pipelines, electricity transmission lines, sea ports, et c.  The Government would review the need for 
further privatization in 2000.  Another 95 enterprise s, such as the State Nuclear Power Plant, were 
currently not included in the privatization plans. 
18. Some members requested Lithuania to provide a table or chart indicating the status of 
privatization, by size and/or type of firm, addressing all en terprises still wholly or partly owned by the 
State, information on how many Stat e-owned firms existed prior to pr ivatization, how many had been 
fully privatized,  a list of enterprises and sectors sti ll wholly or partly owned by the State, the portion of 
equity still owned by the State, the portion of out put and trade represented by private firms, how many 
firms had been prepared for privatization and for which privatization was pending, and how many were 
not at this time contemplated as part of the privatization programme.  Lithuania should also define the 
conditions whereby it would consider its privatizatio n programme completed and when it expected to 
accomplish this.  The representative of Lithuania su bmitted information on the privatization process in 
Lithuania (1991 - 31 July 1997), circulated in docu ment WT/ACC/LTU/17 of 26 September 1997.  Of 
the approximately 8,065 enterprises ow ned by the State prior to privatiz ation, 5,714 entities valued at 
3.2 billion litas had been privati zed during the first stage of priv atization (1991-1995).  Entities not 
100 per cent privatized during the first stage had been included in the second stag e of privatization.  The 
second stage (January 1996 – Decembe r 2000) had thus far covered the privatization of 1,364 entities 
worth some 3 billion litas.  Detailed information on  privatization of State and municipal assets and 
agricultural enterprises is presented in Table 1(a)-(c). 
19. The representative of Lithuania confirmed the read iness of Lithuania to ensure the transparency 
of its ongoing privatization programme and to keep  WTO Members informed of its progress in the 
reform of its transforming economic and trade regime .  He stated that his Government would provide 
annual reports, along the lines of that provi ded to the Working Party, to WTO Members on 
developments in its programme of privatization as long as the priv atization programme would be in 
existence.  He also stated that his Government wo uld provide annual reports on other issues  related to 
economic reforms as relevant to  its obligations under the WTO until 31 December 2004.  The Working 
Party took note of these commitments. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 8  
 
Pricing Policies
 
20. Some members of the Working Party noted that certain goods and services remained subject to 
price controls and requested details and plans regard ing further deregulation of  prices.  Lithuania was 
asked to list the products subject to  price controls and to provide info rmation on the legal basis for these 
controls, the reasons for these controls and the condi tions under which such or extended controls might 
be applied in the future. 
21. The representative of Lithuania replied that price controls ha d been relaxed gradually in 
Lithuania.  Controls on mark-ups on foodstuffs had ceased as of 1 April 1995, thus profit margins were 
no longer limited at the processor or retail level.  He provided an updated list of goods and services 
subject to price control, reproduced  in Table 2.  He did not believe that the number of goods and 
services subject to price contro ls would increase in the future.  Further price liberalization in 
transportation and telecommunications would be linked to increasing competition resulting from 
economic restructuring and privatization.  He conf irmed that Lithuanian i ndustries did not receive 
electricity and gas at subsidized prices, but price c ontrols would remain on residential use of electricity, 
natural gas and heating to support low-income house holds.  He said that th e price control on State-
owned land was connected with the re storation of private land ownership as part of agricultural reform.  
He further stated that price cont rol on State-owned land would be a bolished after the restoration of 
private land ownership in the course of the impl ementation of agricultural  reform.  Upright wood 
(HS 0602.99.41) from State-owned fore sts was subject to mi nimum, not maximum, prices.  Wood from 
private-owned forests was not under State price regulation.  He conf irmed that the Government would 
revise those price controls .  He confirmed that prices of goods an d services in every sector, with the 
exceptions listed in Table 2, were determined freely by market forc es.  The list of goods and services 
subject to price controls set by the State and any chan ges to this list would be published in the Official 
Gazette, and price controls set by municipalities would be publis hed in the local mass media. 
22. The representative of Lithuania confirmed th at his Government would apply the minimum 
prices and price controls on products and services c ontained in Table 2,and any that are introduced or re-
introduced in the future, in a WTO consistent fashi on, and take account of th e interests of exporting 
WTO Members as provided for in Article III.9 of the GA TT 1994.  Lithuania also will publish the list of 
goods and services subj ect to State price controls in the Offici al Gazette including any changes from the 
list in Table 2.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Competition Policy  
23. The representative of Lithuania said that a new Law on Competition had been adopted by 
Parliament on 23 March 1999.  The new Law, which had replaced the 1992 Law on Competition,  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 9 
 
 
improved the control of restrictions of competitio n in Lithuania.  Supervised by the Competition 
Council, the Law was applied to all enterprises irrespective of owners hip or kind of economic activity 
across the entire territory of Lithuania.  The Law re gulated practices restricti ng competition or involving 
unfair competition.  The exemption from the Law on Competition in favour of the union of sugar producers had been eliminated in accordance with the Law on the Amendment and Supplement to the 
Law on Sugar of 8 July 1999.  He added that the Government had approved Resolution No.137 of 18 
February 1997 (amendment of 30 April 1999) concer ning the "State Aid Monitoring Order", which 
sought to prevent distortions to co mpetition being created by State ai d provided to individual operators 
in the market. 
24. The Competition Council had investigated 48 cases of abuse of dominant position between 
1992 and 1999.  A further 3 cases had been opened in 2000.  Dominant enterprises were those 
controlling 40 per cent or more of  the relevant domestic market;  the Council had included enterprises 
with market shares exceeding 60 per cent in a li st of dominant suppliers.  In January 1996, the 
Competition Council had listed six ente rprises holding from 60 to 90 per cent of their respective markets 
and having abused their dominant positions by ch arging unreasonably high pr ices during 1994-1995.  
The six enterprises were obliged to  notify price changes in advance to  the Competition Council.  The list 
of dominant enterprises had been discontinued.  Abuse of dominant position would henceforth be 
investigated on a case-by-case basis.  In 1997, 44 ca ses of presumed violation (abuse of dominant 
position, mergers, unfair competition, prohibited agreements) of the Law on Competition had been 
investigated, and the Competition Council had adop ted the appropriate decisions.  Fines had been 
imposed in 36 cases.  By January 1999, 107 invest igations had been carried out on the basis of 
complaints or at the Council's own initiative.  During 1998, the Council ha d taken 19 decisions, and 
fined 23 economic entities.  In 1999, 80 investigat ions had been carried ou t, 14 decisions had been 
taken, and 3 enterprises had been fined. 
FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING AND ENFORCING POLICIES 
25. The representative of Lithuania said that sovereign State power in Lithuania was exercised by 
the President, the Seimas, the Government and the judiciary.  The Seimas was a one-chamber Parliament with 141 members.  The Seimas consid ered and enacted amendments to the Constitution, 
enacted laws, considered the pr ogramme of the Government, approved the State budget, established 
State taxes and other obligatory payments, ratified in ternational treaties, and considered other domestic 
and foreign policy issues.  The President of the Republic was the Head of State.  The President 
represented the State of Lithuania and performed th e duties laid down by the Constitution and the laws, 
including the passage of Presidential Decrees.  The Government was the highest  authority of executive 
power.  The Government was led by the Prime Mini ster and currently consis ted of 14 Ministries.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 10  
 
Discharging the duties prescribed by the Constituti on and other laws, the Government was bound in its 
activities by the Constitution, laws and other legal acts adopted by the Seimas, including international 
treaties and Agreements, or decrees of the President.   The Government implemented these legal acts in 
the form of resolutions.  Each resolution of th e Government was an act incorporating concrete 
implementation measures.  Thus, le gal acts of the Government did not require further approval by 
Parliament.  In exceptional circ umstances requiring immediate decisi on, the Government could pass a 
temporary measure (resoluti on) while Parliament's adop tion of a law was pending. 
26. The hierarchy of legislative acts in Lithuania comprised the Constitution, Constitutional Law, 
International Treaties and Agreemen ts, Laws and other legal acts adopt ed by Parliament, decrees of the 
President, Government Resolutions, and other lega l acts of governmental bodies.  The WTO Agreement 
would have the status of an international treaty.  The Law on Order of Publishing and Entry into Force 
of Legal Acts of 6 April 1993 and its amendment of 18 May 1999 had established the order of entry into 
force of legal acts in Lithuania.  Having been publis hed in the Official Gazette,  legal acts entered into 
force on the following day, or on a later date stipulated in the published legal act.  The judicial system in 
Lithuania comprised the Constitutional Court, the Su preme Court, the Appeals Court, the County Court 
and District (city) Courts, and th e system of administrative courts  described in paragraph [27]. 
27. A special dispute settlement orde r existed under Article 24/1 of the Civil Process Code with 
regard to measures or decisions taken by offici al or government institutions.  On 14 January 1999, 
Parliament had passed the Law on Ad ministrative Procedure.  The Law, which had entered into force on 
1 May 1999, set out the legal procedure for administ rative cases.  The objective of the Law was to 
establish how administrative cases of conflicts, de riving from relations governed by administrative law, 
would be examined.  The Law established a system of three-stage administrative courts.  In general, the administrative court had competence to act as an arbiter in disputes involving public administration and 
natural or legal persons, including de cisions or actions of State or lo cal self-government administration 
going beyond their competence or spec ifically infringing laws or suppl ementary legal documents.  The 
Law was the principal law determining legal pro cedures for administrative cases, including the 
procedure for traders to refer meas ures affecting internat ional trade to an independent judicial body.  
Issues not regulated by the Law were  covered by the Code of Civil Proc edures.  In his view, Lithuania's 
mechanism complied fully with the requirements of GATT Article X:3(b) and GATS Article VI:2. 
28. The representative of Lithuania added that local governments acted freely and independently 
within the limits of their competence, establis hed by the Constitution and laws.  Local Councils 
maintained the right, within established limits and in  accordance with procedures laid down by law, to 
levy taxes on excavation sites, traf fic access, parking, street vendors,  visual commercial advertisements, 
etc.  However, municipalities were not entitled to ta x items subject to taxation at the national level.   WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 11 
 
 
Local authorities thus could not apply duties on imported goods.  The representative of Lithuania 
confirmed that sub-ce ntral administrative authoriti es, e.g. local administrative bodies, had no jurisdiction 
or authority to establish regulations or taxes on goods and services in Lithuania independent of the 
central authorities, and that application of these me asures was exclusively the responsibility of the 
executive and legislative branches of the central Government. 
29. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that s ub-central entities had no autonomous authority 
over issues of subsidies, taxation,  trade policy or any other measures  covered by WTO provisions.  He 
confirmed that the provisions of the WTO Agreement, including Lithua nia’s Protocol, shall be applied 
uniformly throughout its customs territory and other te rritories under its control, including in regions 
engaging in border trade or frontier traffic, spec ial economic zones, and ot her areas where special 
regimes for tariffs, taxes and regulations are establis hed.  He added that when  apprized of a situation 
where WTO provisions were not be ing applied or were applied in  a non-uniform manner, central 
authorities would act to enforce WT O provisions without requiring affe cted parties to petition through 
the courts.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
POLICIES AFFECTING TRADE IN GOODS 
Trading Rights (the right to import and export)  
30. Some members of the Working Party noted that laws and regulations relating to the right to 
trade in goods (also sometimes referred to as "regis tration requirements" or "activity licensing") should 
not restrict imports of goods in violation of the ge neral prohibition on quantita tive restrictions in GATT 
Article XI:1, nor should they discriminate against im ported goods in violation of the non-discrimination 
provisions of GATT Article I II:4.  Furthermore, fees and charges le vied on the right to import should be 
limited to the approximate cost of  services rendered (Article VIII:1 (a)) and taxes and charges on the 
right to trade in imported goods should not lead to discrimination in favour of  like domestic products 
(Article III:2). 
31. In order to establish whether these GATT provi sions were observed, some members requested 
Lithuania to supply information on (i) the conditions attached to the right to import individual products 
or groups of products, including all fees and charges levied on these rights;  and (ii) the conditions 
attached to the right to engage in the internal sale, offering for sale, purchase, transportation, distribution 
or use of individual products or groups of products, including all taxes and charges on these activities, in 
particular when these distinguished between im ported products and products of national origin.  
Lithuania was also asked to provide  information on how it would bring its policies into line with GATT 
requirements whenever this was necessary and, in particular, how it would modify its stamp taxes to 
conform to relevant GATT rules. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 12  
 
32. The representative of Lithuania replied that the following types of entities, which have the right 
to engage in commercial/economic activities could be registered in Lithuania:  individual (personal) 
enterprises;  partnerships;  limited partnerships;  stock corporations (public and closed);  State 
enterprises;  agricultural compan ies and cooperative companies.  Both  foreign and domestic legal or 
natural persons could register to do business in Lithuania.  However, individuals could not register to 
import, but they could establish an enterprise and the enterprise coul d register to import. 
33. He added that certain activities were subject to licensing in accordance with the Law on 
Amendments and Supplements of the Law on Enterprises of 25 Se ptember 1997.  Table 3.1 listed 
goods-related business activ ities subject to licensing in Lithua nia.  He confirmed that Lithuania 
maintained the same criteria and procedures for review ing applications for licences to engage in trade or 
production of goods, whether the appli cants intended to deal in do mestic or imported goods, or a 
combination thereof, except as noted in paragraph [36] below.  The number of economic activities 
requiring licence had been si gnificantly reduced under a new amendm ent of the Law on Enterprises, and 
he expected further reductions in the number of  licensed activities in the future.  Licensing of 
commercial activity, including importation, was curre ntly applied to products containing alcohol; 
tobacco and tobacco products;  oil products;  na rcotics and poisonous substa nces;  and ammunition, 
weapons and pyrotechnics (update d information on licensing criteria  for imported goods was provided 
in document WT/ACC/LTU/19).  Two activities - produc tion of products with et hyl alcoholic strength 
exceeding 22 per cent;  and the prin ting of money, postage stamps and coins  - could only be undertaken 
by enterprises owned by the State or municipalities, or special enterprises.  The exclusive rights to 
produce alcoholic beverages with st rength greater than 22 per cent di d not extend to the importation of 
such beverages. 
34. Concerning the activity licensing of production and tr ade in alcoholic beverages, he said that the 
State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Agency issued separate activity licences for wholesale trade in 
alcoholic beverages produced in Lithuania, and for importation and production of alcoholic beverages.  
The licensing requirements fo r alcoholic beverages were identical fo r all types of activity.  The Agency 
issued licences for importation and wholesale trade in alcoholic beve rages while retail traders obtained 
authorization from municipal authorities.  He st ressed that domestically-pr oduced alcohol was subject to 
the same restrictions and regulatio ns as imported products.  In all,  about 12,000 import, wholesale and 
retail licences had been issu ed during 1995, about 11,000 licences in 1996, 10,500 in 1997, 10,200 
licences in 1998, and some 10,600 in 1999. 
35. The activity licensing for importati on of alcoholic beverages had be en changed.  Parliament had 
approved the Law on Amendment and Supplement to  the Law on Alcohol Control on 8 April 1997.  
One of the purposes of the new Law was to harm onize the existing Law on Alcohol Control with the  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 13 
 
 
provisions of the WTO.  The new Law did not rest rict the number of activity licences to import 
alcoholic beverages and did not require importers to limit their ch oice of imports to foreign companies 
included in the bulletins of the Association of Manufa cturers of Alcoholic Bevera ges.  According to the 
provisions of the new Law, there were no tenders for issuing activity licences for importation of 
alcoholic beverages or for engaging in domestic trade.  Activity licen ces for importation of alcoholic 
beverages were accordingly now gran ted to all applicants against paym ent of the stamp tax provided the 
companies were registered in Lithuania, followed the regular procedures for obtaining a licence, and 
submitted all documentation require d under Lithuanian law.  The conditions for new entrants had 
improved as no credit was given for prior experience as an  importer.  In addition, the licences to engage 
in importation, production, and wholes ale and retail trade of alcohol - pr eviously valid for one year only 
- were now of unlimited duration.  Interested enterprises were required to renew their registration once a 
year, but this was effected wit hout any additional documentation. 
36. The representative of Lithuania added that acti vity licences and licences for importation and 
transit were granted automatically and on a non-disc riminatory basis,  except in the following cases: 
(i) no activity licences were granted to fo reigners for the organizing of lotteries; 
(ii) applications for licences to import or transit c ould be rejected or subjec t to limitations regarding 
activities related to strategic goods - production and importation was strictly controlled for 
reasons of national security (according to COCOM requirements - see paragraph [69] for further 
details) or environmental protection;  
(iii) the right to manufacture products of ethyl alcoholic strength exceeding 22 per cent (by volume) 
was reserved for enterprises owned by the State or municipalities, or special enterprises;  and 
(iv) the right to print money, postage stamps and mintage was reserved for State enterprises. 
37. The representative of Lithuania said that the Government levied a stamp tax on a number of 
services provided by its institutions (described  in the Section "Fees and Charges for Services 
Rendered").  The Government also levied stamp taxes for the issuance  of activity licences.  The annual 
stamp taxes for activity licences on alcohol and alcoho lic beverages, tobacco and petroleum products are 
listed in Table 4.  Ta x rates had been establ ished in accordance with Resolution No. 1123 of 
11 November 1994, and were indexed to  the rate of inflation.  The ta x was related or limited to the 
approximate cost of the services re ndered and differed according to the nature of the licensed activity, 
bearing in mind that activity licences to import alc oholic beverages and petrol eum products would also 
cover wholesale of the products, and that importati on/wholesale licences also included a larger number 
of products than wholesale licence s for domestically-produced goods only.  Stamp taxes for activity WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 14  
 
licensing related to importation and wholesale included an important fiscal element, and were also 
important to encourage responsible importers and wholesaler s who would be prepared to follow customs 
and tax procedures, and pay the re quired tariffs and taxes.  When granting the activity licence the 
Government would specify the type of beverage to be imported by a particular  enterprise, i.e. vodka, 
vodka and other spirits, wine, etc ., but not the value or volume. 
38. A member welcomed the reduction of activity lic ensing as a method of regulation and revenue, 
but was concerned that licences such as those to import alcohol and petroleum were being granted only 
with a tax which did not apply to domestic producers or distributors.  The size of some of the fees were 
not associated with the cost of the services rendered;  they rather served as revenue raisers and barriers to entry, thus WTO rules on national treatment appl ied in full.  The licensing fees on trade in oil 
products were possibly a disguised tax on the importation of refined petroleum products.  He remained 
concerned that the fees applied for certain import ac tivity, e.g. in the areas of alcoholic beverages, 
tobacco products, and petroleum produc ts were a disguised tax on that tr ade.  Lithuania would need to 
change its system if it amounted to a tax on importation. 
39. The representative of Lithuania replied that th e system had been changed through Government 
Resolution No. 744 of June 1998 (as amended by Re solution No. 366 of 31 March 2000), and would be 
further amended prior to accession to address rema ining issues.  He confir med that the new system 
would be in full compliance with WTO rules prior to that time.  The new equalized stamp taxes for engaging in importation and trade in alcoholic bevera ges had been applied since 1 May 2000.  Under the 
new order, an activity licence, valid for one year , to import and engage in wholesale of imported 
alcoholic beverages cost 80,000 lit as (US$20,000); for beverages of alcohol strength less than 22 per 
cent – 40,000 litas (US$10,000);  and beer only – 10, 000 litas (US$2,500).   The same taxes would be 
charged for activity licences to engage in wholesale trade of alcohol produced in Lithuania (see Table 4 
for a full list of these stamp taxes).  An activity licence to import alcoholic  beverages also covered 
wholesale of the products.  The importation/wholesale licence also included a larger number of beverage 
brands (about 1,000) than a wholesale licence fo r domestically produced beverages (some 100-150 
products).  He confirmed that further amen dments to Government Resolution No.1123 of 
11 November 1994 "On the Approval of Stamp Tax Ta riffs and Procedure of Stamp Tax Payment and 
Refunding" and Government Resolution No.559 of 5 June 1997 "On Licensing the Importation, 
Wholesale and Retail Trade in Alcoholic Products" would be implemented to equalize the stamp taxes 
for production, wholesale and im portation activities for alcoholic beverages prior to Lithuania’s 
accession to the WTO. 
40. Stamp taxes for activity licence in importation/wh olesale and wholesale of oil and oil products 
as well as of motor oils had be en equalized through Government Resolution No.366 of 31 March 2000.   WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 15 
 
 
An activity licence for importati on/wholesale of oil and oil produ cts cost 120,000 litas (US$30,000), and 
the same stamp taxes were charged for wholesale in oi l and oil products.  The stamp taxes for licences to 
engage in importation/wholesale of motor oil amount ed to 5,000 litas (US$1,250), and the stamp taxes 
for wholesale of motor oil also cost 5,000 litas.  The new equalized stamp taxe s had been applied since 
1 May 2000.  The licence fee for importation of tob acco products - Llt. 15,000 per year - was equal to 
the corresponding fee for wholesale trade in tobacco products according to Government 
Resolution No. 180 of 13 February 1998. 
41. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that the former Stat e monopoly in foreign trade had 
been abolished and that no restrictions existed on  the right of foreign and domestic individuals and 
enterprises registered in Lithua nia to import and export goods within  Lithuania's customs territory, 
except as provided in paragraph [36] and as prov ided for in WTO Agreements.  He confirmed that 
individuals and firms were not restricted in their ability to impor t and export based on their registered 
scope of business, and the criteria for registration were generally applic able and published in the Official 
Gazette. 
42. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania would ensure that its laws and 
regulations relating to the right to trade in goods and all fees, charges or  taxes levied on such rights were 
in full conformity with its WTO obligations, including  Articles VIII:1(a), XI:1, and III:2 and 4 of the 
GATT 1994 and that it would also implement such laws and regulations in full conformity with these 
obligations.  The Working Party took  note of this commitment. 
Market Access Negotiations  
43. Lithuania engaged in market access negotia tions on goods with interested Members.  
Lithuania's Schedule of Concessions and Commit ments on Goods is annexed to the Protocol of 
Accession of Lithuania which is reprodu ced in the Appendix to this Report. 
IMPORT REGULATION 
Customs Code  
44. The representative of Lithuania said that the Seimas had approved a Customs Code on 
18 April 1996, replacing the Law on Customs of 29 Ap ril 1993 and certain provisions of the Law on 
Customs Tariff and other legislation.  The Customs Co de had entered into force on 1 January 1998.  The 
Customs Code was based on the provisions of th e Community Customs Code (Council Regulation 
92/2913/EEC and its amendments), defining the respons ibilities of government institutions involved in 
the administration of customs and providing the fr amework for importation, exportation and goods in WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 16  
 
transit.  The implementing provisions of the Code were fully based on the Im plementing Provisions of 
the Community Customs Code (Commission Regulation 93/2454/EEC and its amendments).  Among 
the most important provisions were the Order of Customs Valuation of Goods No. 748 of 9 June 1999 
(described in the section "Customs Valuation"), and the Order of Dete rmination of Origin of Goods and 
on Certificates of Origin. 
45. [The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania's customs regulations would be fully 
consistent with WTO provisions from the date of accession and that Lithuania's implementing 
regulations and other legal require ments for implementation would be in place by that date.  The 
Working Party took note of this commitment.] 
Ordinary Customs Duties
 
46. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that  the Convention on the Harmonized System had 
entered into force in Lithuania on 1 January 1995.  Th e structure of customs tari ffs was regulated by the 
new Law on Customs Tariffs, whic h had entered into force on 1 July  1998.  Tariff rates could be 
changed by government decision based on proposals by Ministries, taking account of Lithuania's 
international obligations and commitments.  Tariffs had accordingly been reduced on major food 
products (milk and dairy products, butter, eggs, sausages and sugar) in Se ptember 1995.  In accordance 
with Government resolution No. 1245 of 20 Oc tober 1998, customs duties had been increased 
temporarily on some agricultural and food products (meat,  milk, sugar, grain and grain products), 
effective 1 November 1998.  The increase in duty rates was based on Government Resolution No. 1122 
of 17 September 1998 "On pr ovisional measures for the facilita tion of export of Lithuanian goods, 
protection of domestic market, st rengthening the position of Lithuani a", which had been approved in 
response to the financial crisis in Russia.  Goods were subject to the autonomous rate of duty, except for 
imports originating in countries enjoying most-favoure d-nation status in Lithuani a which were subject to 
conventional import duties, and goods im ported under free trade agreements. 
47. Applied tariff rates were ad valorem  except for specific (mixed) duties on alcohol, tobacco, raw 
sugar and fertilizers.  The specif ic elements of mixed duties on m eat and dairy products had been 
eliminated in February 1995. 
Other Duties and Charges  
48. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania did not apply duties and charges on 
imports other than ordinary customs duties.  Any su ch charges applied to impo rts after accession would 
be in accordance with WTO provisi ons.  He further confirmed that Lithuania would not list any other 
charges in its goods schedule under Article II:1(b) of the GATT 1994, binding such charges at "zero".  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 17 
 
 
Tariff Rate Quotas, Tariff Exemptions  
49. Some members noted that Lithuania had used ta riff quotas to provide for temporary import 
relief for goods in short supply.  Lithuania was as ked to specify the goods subject to tariff quotas and to 
explain the operation of the quota sy stem.  Lithuania should also provide  a justification for the system, 
some information on the portion of imported products affected, and outline plans for the disposition of the system after Lithuania's accession to the WTO. 
50. The representative of Lithuania replied that general tariff quotas c ould be opened for any 
product considered to be in short supply.  Tariff quotas had been opened under Government 
Resolution No. 653 (8 May 1995), implementing the La w on State Regulation of Economic Relations in 
Agriculture (22 December 1994), but the list of produc ts subject to general ta riff-rate quotas had been 
abolished by Government Resolution No. 793 of 30 June 1998.  He confirme d that imports from all 
countries were afforded the same access under the ge neral tariff-rate quotas. 
51. In general, tariff rate quotas a llowed imports at zero (or reduce d) tariffs.  Tariff rate quotas 
could be granted only when domestic production of  a certain commodity or product, combined with 
imports at the MFN tariff rate, would be insuffic ient to satisfy domestic  demand or when certain 
commodities or products were not produced in Lithuani a.  If such a shortage was deemed imminent in 
Lithuania, the tariff quota amount w ould be determined and a public tender announced in the Official 
Gazette.  Enterprises/impor ters requesting quotas or pa rticipation in tenders su bmitted application forms 
to the responsible Ministry.  In most cases, tari ff rate quotas for the main agricultural products and 
foodstuffs were auctioned to the highest bidder, and tariff quotas for some products (such as pure-
breeding animals and poultry, semen,  boars, etc.) were provided to a pplicants without restrictions.  
Tariff rate quotas could also be di stributed proportionally to the quantitie s requested to all applicants if 
all met the requirement s of the tender.  The same system applie d to industrial products, but it had not yet 
been used. 
52. The representative of Lithuania said that the Mini stry of Agriculture auth orized imports of non-
bottled alcoholic beverages and raw materials for al coholic beverages under general tariff-rate quotas 
(30 per cent reduction of the tariff  rate) opened in accordance with  Government Resolution No. 672 of 
27 May 1999.  Permission was granted automatically upon presentation of an application and a sales 
contract, but only to companies holding activity licen ces for the production of alcoholic beverages, i.e. 
to the authorized producers (not n ecessarily "State enterprises") which had obtained licences from the 
State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Agency to import  alcohol and produce alcoholic beverages.  Their 
number was not limited, and new entrants could ob tain an activity licence against payment of the 
corresponding fee.  Enterprises not licensed for th e production of alcoholic beverages could import such WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 18  
 
raw materials at the MFN rate of duty.  The system had been introduced to fight illegal production of 
counterfeit alcoholic products.   Tariff quotas for imports of ethyl alcohol for technical uses were granted 
automatically to companies substantiating their needs. 
53. A member requested the disposal, prior to accessi on, of Lithuania's requirement to use domestic 
sugar prior to allowing imports.  In reply, the re presentative of Lithuania said that Lithuania had 
abolished the requirement to use domestic sugar pr ior to allowing imports.  The Law on Sugar (with 
recently adopted amendments) regulated the sugar mark et in Lithuania.  The Law defined measures to 
regulate the internal sugar market such as purchase quotas and minimum purchase prices for local raw sugar purchased under these quotas, and State control of  sugar quality and certific ation.  In response to 
requests from WTO Members, Lithuania had d ecided to eliminate arra ngements whereby sugar 
processors’ imports of sugar under tariff quota had been made conditional on th e purchase of specific 
quantities of domestically -produced beet sugar, the exemption from the Law on Competition for the 
union of sugar producers, minimum import prices, and import quotas.  Thes e measures had been 
terminated through the "Amendment and Supplement to  the Law on Sugar" approved by Parliament on 
8 July 1999.  He added that his Government determ ined the order and conditions for application of 
measures defined under the Law on Sugar.  Current measures regulatin g the sugar market were import 
duty, excise duty (on sugar and products cont aining more than 20 per cent sugar, since 
1 November 1998), automatic import licensing, an d minimum import prices (to be abolished on 
1 April 2000).  Moreover, his Government determined  an annual production quota for white sugar used 
by sugar refineries, and minimum pu rchase prices for sugar produced from beet purchased under these 
quotas. 
54. A member noted that, in the market access negotiations, Lithuania had agreed to provide 
guaranteed minimum quantities of access for a number of products, including sugar, through opening of 
a tariff rate quota.  This commit ment differed from the arrangements described above in paragraph [51].  
This member asked for details of how this tariff quota would be allocated. 
55. In reply, the representative of Lithuania said th at tariff quotas included in Lithuania's schedule 
of concessions and commitm ents on goods would be made availabl e only for the importation of product 
from MFN suppliers and would not be used to meet L ithuania’s preferential ob ligations under bilateral 
or regional free trade agreements.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
56. The representative of Lithuania said that from th e date of accession any application of general 
tariff rate quotas [such as those described in paragr aph 51] would be in accordance with the provisions 
of Articles III and XIII of GATT 1994.  The Working Party t ook note of this commitment.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 19 
 
 
Fees and Charges for Services Rendered  
57. The representative of Lithuania said that, in accordance with the Law on Stamp Tax of 
23 June 1994 and rates established through Resolutions No. 1123 of 11 November 1994 and No. 640 of 
23 June 1997, stamp taxes (i.e. State f ees and charges) were levied for th e issuance of official documents 
(such as licences) as well as for the provision of certain services by government institutions, including 
customs clearance operations.  Stamp taxes were collected by the institu tions responsible for issuing the 
appropriate documents.  The State Tax Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance controlled how these 
institutions collected the Stamp Taxes.  He stated that the Stamp Tax was set at different rates depending on the nature of the product and the type of servi ce provided.  Customs services fees amounted to 10-
110 Litas for the registration of goods and 25 Litas fo r the issuance of documen ts, including certificates 
of origin.  The stamp taxes applicable for the proc essing of imports by customs and for other purposes 
related to trade are enumerated in Table 5.  He stated that these fees and charges were related or limited 
to the approximate cost of the services render ed.  Additional customs fees were assessed for 
supplementary services such as cu stoms formalities perform ed outside the Customs office or outside its 
normal business hours, for the suppl y of non-confidential information from the database of the Customs 
Department, etc.  At the request of a member seeking clarification whether taxes on trade activities were 
collected by Lithuania's consulates abroad, in part icular whether formaliza tion of export or import 
documents was required at consulates  prior to shipment, he also provi ded information on consular fees, 
underlining that these fees were not  related to importation, exporta tion or transit issues.  He also 
confirmed that formalization of e xport or import documents was not re quired at Lithuania's consulates 
abroad. 
58. A member asked whether the list of stamp taxes in Table 5 was comprehensive, and noted that 
while some of these fees were not large, many of them did not seem related to any service other than 
generating revenue, e.g. fees of 2,000 to 6,000 Litas on imports for commercial sale of colour copiers 
and guns did not seem related to the cost of customs operations .  These "fees" appeared to be taxes 
applied to imports and should be adjusted to ensure their conformity with Article III of the GATT.  In reply, the representative of Lithuania said that the list of stamp taxes provide d in Table 5 covered the 
fees and charges for services rendered relating to importation and exportation, and the list was 
comprehensive.  He added that revenues generated by stamp tax fees were re mitted to the general 
revenues in the State budget, and that  Lithuania could not supply specif ic data on whether the stamp tax 
revenues collected were in line with the cost of customs operations covered by the fees since neither the Customs Department nor any other institu tion had performed such calculations  
59. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania woul d ensure that any fees and 
charges for services rendered listed in Table 5 or introduced in the future would only be applied in WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 20  
 
conformity with the relevant obligations of GATT 19 94, and from the date of accession any application 
of fees and charges by Lithuania for services rendered on or in connec tion with importation or 
exportation would be in accordance with the relevant  provisions of the WTO Ag reements, in particular 
Articles VIII and X of GATT 1994.  After accession, information regard ing the applicati on and level of 
any such fees, revenues collected and their use, would be provided to WTO Members upon request.  The 
Working Party took note of these commitments. 
Application of Intern al Taxes to Imports
 
60. Some members of the Working Party asked Lith uania to enumerate the products subject to 
excise taxes, comment on the use of specific rates and confirm whet her imported and do mestic products 
were treated equally.  In reply, the representative of Lithuania provided the information on product-
specific excise taxes reprodu ced in Table 6.  Rates were ad valorem , in some cases specific minima had 
been established (in Litas per unit).  Lithuani a had no plans to convert specific amounts into ad valorem  
rates since large price differentials existed be tween domestic and importe d goods.  On domestic 
products, excise taxes were levied on the selling price exclusive of VA T;  the tax base for imports was 
the customs value inclusive of customs duties. 
61. Some members noted that excise taxes on beer and wine were differenti ated and that imported 
cigarettes attracted the highest excise tax rate, wh ile taxes on domestically-produced cigarettes were 
differentiated according to quality.  A member requested Lithuania to (i) explain exactly what it would 
do concerning the preferential tax on small breweries;   (ii) confirm that the differential treatment of 
tobacco excise taxes for "Philip Morris Lietuva" and "H ouse of Prince Lietuva" [Table 6, footnote] had 
expired and that all tobacco products were taxed equally;  (iii) explain the exemption for a jet fuel joint 
venture;  and (iv) explain why meads were taxed at a rate different from other distilled spirits, reminding 
Lithuania that a preferential tax rate for a domestic  product was not consistent  with GATT Article III. 
62. The representative of Lithuania replied that excise taxes had been differentiated (based on 
quality) for cigarettes and certain domestically-produced and imported wine and beer until April 1998.  
Lithuania had taken concrete steps to  bring its excise taxes into confor mity with GATT Article III, as 
follows:  Imported wine was no longer taxed at differentiated rates, and differentiated excise taxes had been abolished for both imported and domestically -produced filter-tipped cigarettes according to 
Government Resolution No. 393 of 3 April 1998.  Addressi ng the specific points, he said that (i) a lower 
rate of excise tax was applied to  small producers of beer.  As from 1 January 2000 and in accordance 
with the Amendment to the Law on Excise Taxes of 23 December 1999, a partial exemption of excise 
tax (i.e. a 50 per cent reduction) was granted for th e first 100,000 dekalitres of beer produced by small 
producers with annual production of less than 800,000 deka litres.  The lower tax ra te was also applicable  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 21 
 
 
to foreign small producers of beer.  He considered th at this measure, while not fully consistent with 
GATT Article III, would provide more equitable treatment for im ports pending further amendments to 
the Law on Excise Taxes to bring it into conformity with WTO provisions;  (ii) "Philip Morris Lietuva" 
was at present the only importer of tobacco (HS 240 3.10.90.1.) for the production of cigarettes.  The 
"House of Prince Lietuva" did not produce cigarettes and therefore did not benefit from the exemption.  
However, according to the Law any new entrant would benefit from the same exemption for the 
importation of tobacco to be used for the production of cigarettes which, in his view, justified such 
differential tr eatment of tobacco;  (iii) as from 1 April 2000 (under the Amendment to the Law on 
Excise Taxes of 17 February 2000), ex cise tax was not levied on any en terprise (domestic or foreign) 
having a licence to supply jet fuel (HS code 2710.00.51.0) to enterpri ses transporting passengers or 
cargo in international air traffic; and (iv) the exci se tax exemption for bevera ges (HS code 2206.00.89.0) 
produced by "Lietuviškas midus" had been elimin ated in accordance with  Government Resolution 
No.1515 of 30 December 1998 and the Amendment to  the Law on Excise Taxes No.VIII-982 of 
21 December 1998.  Concerning the excise tax differen tiation between mead and ot her distilled spirits, 
he stressed that products under HS Code 2208.90.69.1 in cluded mead of foreign origin, and Lithuania's 
treatment was therefore, in his view, consistent with  GATT Article III.  The different taxation of mead 
beverages (domestic or foreign) from other bevera ges was due to the costs of the special production 
technology of mead beverages, i.e. the raw materi als used in such production (the most important 
ingredient of these beverages being mead) were 10-12 times more expensive than the spirit raw material 
used in the production of other alcohol beverages.  Thus, prices of mead-based  alcohol beverages were 
much higher than prices of other al cohol beverages.  [Moreover, differ ent excise taxes we re also applied 
to alcohol beverages with the sa me strength in recently acceded c ountries such as Georgia, Kyrgyz 
Republic and Estonia.][A member reiterated that L ithuania's practice of ta xing mead and other strong 
distilled alcoholic beverages at a lower rate than distilled alcoholic bevera ges of lesser strength was 
inconsistent with recent WTO panel rulings, which ha d confirmed the need for domestic taxes on such 
products to be levied at an e qual rate.  Lithuania's mead tax did not meet this standard.] 
63. The representative of Lithuania added that suga r and products containing  more than 20 percent 
sugar had become subject to excise as from 1 No vember 1998.  Revenue from this excise tax was 
earmarked for farmers growi ng sugar beet.  Purchase prices for do mestically-grown sugar beet had been 
reduced to world market levels (i.e. the price did not exceed US$300 per ton), and to compensate 
farmers for the income loss, excise tax had been introduced on sugar and sugar containing products at 
the rate of Llt 1 per kg s ugar.  The tax was levied on domestically -produced and importe d products.  The 
list of sugar containing products (i ncluded in Table 6), and their basi c sugar content, had been approved 
by the Ministry of Agriculture.  The revenue coll ected from the excise was accumulated in a special 
account for farmers' compensation;  subsidies for su gar processors were not foreseen.  There were no WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 22  
 
exemptions from excise tax for any supplier of sugar.   VAT and excise tax on exported sugar and sugar 
containing products were re funded upon exportation. 
64. Some members of the Working Party asked ab out the application of value added tax in 
Lithuania, including the basis for taxation of importe d products.  A member asked for a clarification on 
the treatment of im ported like-products in the light of Arti cle III of the GATT 1994, noting that 
Lithuania had applied a reduced ra te of VAT to some agricultural products of domestic origin.  
65. The representative of Lithuania said that value added tax
 of 18 per cent was charged on goods 
and services.  Goods imported into bonded warehouses and all exports we re zero rated, and a number of 
goods and services were exempt from VAT (Table 7) .  Provisions regarding VAT  had been changed in 
1995 and 1996;  a temporary rate of  9 per cent and exemptions from  VAT for some products had been 
applied until 1 January 1997.  Since that date, both domestic and imported product s had been subject to 
18 per cent value added tax.  The tax base for the imposition of VAT included excise taxes, if any, and 
customs duties on imported products. 
66. The representative of Lithuania stated that, from the date of accession, Lithuania would, with 
one exception, apply its domestic taxes on products, including those listed  in paragraphs [62 to 65 and] 
Tables 6 and 7 in strict compliance with Article III of the GATT 1994, in a non-discriminatory manner 
to imports regardless of country of origin and to domestically-produced goods.  Lithuania's excise taxes 
applied to imported and domestic beer, from whatever  size brewery, would be  equalized or otherwise 
brought into conformity with Arti cle III of the GATT by 31 December 2005.  The Working Party took 
note of this commitment. 
Quantitative Import Restrictions, including Pr ohibitions, Quotas and Licensing Systems  
67. A member sought an undertaking from Lithuani a that any quantitative import restrictions 
inconsistent with Article XI of the GATT 1994 would be eliminated on accessi on.  This member also 
noted a ban on imports of alcoholic beverages with more than 50 per cent alcohol content, although one 
such beverage (mead) was produced domestically by a State-trading enterprise, and stated that this 
practice was not justifiable under Article XX of the GATT.  Lithuani a was accordingly asked how it  
intended to address this issue. 
68. The representative of Lithuania stated that Lith uania did not maintain import prohibitions other 
than a ban on the import of snuff and chewing to bacco (HS 2403.99.10.0), whic h was administered in 
conjunction with a ban on domest ic production of the same products  which would be justified under 
Article XX(b) of the GATT 1994.  A ban on the impor tation of mead and other beverages with alcohol 
content of more than 50 per cent had been abolished in accordance with the Law on Amendments and  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 23 
 
 
Supplements on Alcohol Control of 10 December 1998.  Lithuania did not  maintain any import quotas.  
The Law on Alcohol Control author ized the introduction of producti on and import quotas for certain 
alcohol products should the number of patients suffering from alcoholic psychosis exceed levels 
established by the Ministry of He alth.  However, these provisions had not been applied thus far. 
69. Information on import licensing procedures acco rding to the format applicable to WTO 
Members was provided to the Working Part y in documents WT/A CC/LTU/7/Add.1 and 
WT/ACC/LTU/19 (the section "Tra ding Rights" and Tables 3.1 and 3.2 contain information on 
licensing of business activities).  The representative of  Lithuania stated that Lithuania did not maintain 
any import licensing restrictions other than for the following goods: 
-  narcotics and other controlled substances (HS codes 1211;  1301;  1302;  2905;  2918;  2921;  
2922;  2924;  2925;  2926;  2932;  2933;  2934;  2939;  2914.30.10;  2924.29.50;  2932.90.75;  
2932.90.77;  2939.40.10;  2939.40.30;  2939.60.10;  2939.60.30;  2939.60.50;  2939.90.71)   - 
justified under Article XX(b); 
- dual use goods (civil and military), means of de fence, chemical and bi ological materials which 
can be used in the production of chemical and ba cteriological weapons of  mass destruction;  
nuclear missiles, equipment a nd technologies;  and goods and technologies used in the 
production of missiles - ju stified under Article XXI; 
- dangerous goods (United Na tions list of goods - ju stified under Ar ticle XXI); 
- used tyres (HS 4012.20.90) and electric fishi ng tackle (HS 8543.80.80.0) - justified under 
Article XX for reasons of enviro nmental protection.  The criter ia for granting permission to 
import used tyres were based on the importer pres enting evidence to the authorities that he had 
contracted the delivery of the equivalent of half the quantity to be imported to a company 
specializing in the processing or u tilization of used tyres and that he possessed storage facilities 
for tyres.  The importer should also own equipment for restoration of used tyres, and he should 
have permission from the authoriti es to use national resources. 
Common requirements for the issuance of import licences were:  the application;  the certificate of 
enterprise registration;  the statutes of the enterpri se;  a tax inspection certificate confirming all income 
declared and taxes paid;  a certificate from the Customs Office regarding compliance with customs 
obligations;  confirmation of payment of Stamp taxes;  and, in the case  of rental, the lease contract for 
storage or warehouse premises. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 24  
 
70. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania would,  from the date of accession, 
eliminate and would not introduce, reintroduce or ap ply quantitative restrictions on imports or other 
non-tariff measures such as quot as, bans, permits, prior authoriz ation requirements, licensing 
requirements and other restrictions ha ving equivalent effect that can not be justified under the provisions 
of the WTO Agreement.  He added that import lice nces required for importation described in paragraphs 
[68 and 69] of this report and in document WT/A CC/LTU/19 would be grante d in conformity with 
WTO provisions. He further confirmed that the lega l authority of the Government of Lithuania to 
suspend imports or exports or to a pply licensing requirements that c ould be used to suspend, ban or 
otherwise restrict the quantity of trade would be applied from the date  of accession in conformity with 
the requirements of the WTO, in particular Articl es III, XI, XII, XIII, XIX, XX and XXI of the 
GATT 1994, and the Multilateral Trad e Agreements on Agriculture, the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures, Import Lice nsing Procedures, Safeguards, Tech nical Barriers to Trade and the 
Understanding on Balance-of-Payment s Provisions of the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of 
these commitments. 
Customs Valuation
 
71. Noting a statement by Lithuania that existing legi slation did not yet incorporate all provisions of 
the GATT 1994 Customs Valuation Agreement, Lithua nia was requested to explain which provisions 
were missing and detail plans for the introduction of th ese provisions.  Some members further noted that 
Government Resolutions No. 751 of 25 June 1996  a nd No. 895 of 7 August 1997 appeared to authorize 
reference prices on imports. 
72. The representative of Lithuania said that provisions governing customs valuation were laid 
down in Chapter 6 of the Customs Code, which had en tered into force on 1 January 1998.  Articles 29-
37 of the Code repeated verbatim the key provisions on customs valuation of the GATT 1994 Agreement, and other elements of the GATT 1994 Agreement had been incorporated in the 
implementing provisions of the Customs Code laid do wn in the Order of Customs Valuation of Goods, 
adopted by Government Resolution No. 748 of 9 June 1999, which had entered into force on 
1 April 2000.  Articles 29-37 of the Customs Code and its implem enting legislation contained WTO-
conform provisions in several areas which had been  missing in previous legislation governing customs 
valuation, including on prohibited valuation methods,  notification to importers, confidentiality, the 
valuation of carrier media bearing software for data  processing equipment, and valuation of interest 
charges.  The Interpretative Notes of the GA TT 1994 Agreement earlier omitted from the above-
mentioned legislation had been included in the new Order of Customs Valuation of Goods.  The 
conformity of Lithuania’s curr ent provisions with the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation on an 
article by article basis is set out in Table 8.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 25 
 
 
73. Some members noted that Lithuania had been ap plying a "price-in-checking" system which, in 
their view, did not conform to th e hierarchy of valuation methods provided for in the Agreement.  
Lithuania was urged to use WTO-cons istent provisions to assess valu ation of imports;  the "price-in-
checking" system should not be in place after L ithuania's accession to the WTO.  In reply, the 
representative of Lithuania conf irmed that Government Resolution No. 751 of 25 June 1996 (as 
amended) on "Customs Assessment of  Prices for Imported Goods" had allowed minimum import prices 
and also established a special price list ("price-in-checking" system) fo r some specific goods.  However, 
these measures were no 1. longer valid as from 1 April 2000.  The current customs valuation system of 
Lithuania was therefore, in his view, in  full conformity with WTO requirements. 
74. Having reviewed the new Customs Code with re spect to customs valuation, a member noted 
that its provisions did not seem to represent full implementation of the WTO Agreement on the 
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994.  Article 29 appear ed to permit customs valuation  
based on measures inconsis tent with the Agreement, the Interpreta tive Notes of the Agreement were not 
fully incorporated, Articles 2 to 6 of the WTO Agre ement were implemented on an incomplete basis, the 
Code contained no legal reference to the provisions of Article 7.3 of th e Agreement (importers' right to a 
written explanation of alternative valuation method s), the wording of Article 33 of the Customs Code 
regarding the dutiability of royalty payments was somewhat broader than the WTO Agreement, Article 35 of the Customs Code did not commit Lithua nia to valuation of software based on the value of 
the media, and the Customs Code contained no legal counterparts to WT O provisions regarding 
confidentiality, right of appeal, and the right to a writ ten explanation. 
75. The representative of Lithuania replied that th e concern regarding Article 29 of the Customs 
Code was a misunderstanding arising from a translation error;  the Article was to be used in all cases when import duties and other import taxes, or va lue-based import prohibitions (for products such as 
snuff and chewing tobacco and nuclear materials) or  restrictions (i.e. lice nsing or certification 
procedures), were applie d.  Existing implementing provisions of the Customs Code, laid down in the 
Order of Customs Valuation of Goods (Government  Resolution No. 748 of 9 June 1999), incorporated 
the provisions of Arti cles 2 to 6 of the WTO Agreement, whic h had been missing in Article 31 of the 
Customs Code, as well as the definitions set forth in paragraphs 1 to 3 and in paragraph 5 of Article 15 
of the Agreement, and the provisions concerning valua tion of software based on the value of the carrier 
media.  Lithuania had according ly implemented Decisi on 4.1 of the Customs Valuation Committee 
concerning the valuation of carrier media beari ng software for data processing equipment. 
76. The Order of Customs Valuation of Goods, base d on the appropriate provisions of the Code and 
incorporating all (except the few examples of the above mentioned Interpretative Notes) of the above-
mentioned provisions had been adopted by Governme nt Resolution No. 748 of 9 June 1999.  This Order WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 26  
 
was based on the Implementing Provisions of the Community Customs Code (Commission Regulation 
93/2454/EEC) and had entered into force on 1 April 2000.     The Order included the provisions of the 
Interpretative Notes of GATT 1994 Agreement which had not been incorporated in Lithuania's 
legislation previously.  A comparison of the new Or der with the provisions of the Customs Valuation 
Agreement, on an article-by-article basis, is presented in Table 8. 
77. Regarding the right to written explanation and appeal, he said that Article 5 of the Customs 
Code covered requests of importers  concerning explanation of alternat ive valuation methods.  Customs 
was required to respond in writing to written requests .  In case of rulings agai nst the applicant, this 
information would also set out the grounds on whic h Customs had based its de cision.  The right of 
appeal was provided for in Article 226 of the Cust oms Code.  He acknowledged that the Customs Code 
contained broader wording regarding the dutiability of royalty payments than the WTO Agreement, but 
noted that the wording of paragraph 1(3) of Articl e 33 of the Customs Code had been taken from the 
Interpretative Note to paragraph 1(c) of Article 8 of the Agreement. 
78. The representative of Lithuania stated that the system of import reference prices, including 
those applied to sugar, grain and products thereof, poultry, forage products, leguminous vegetables, oil 
and products thereof, matches and corrugated sheets, as well as th e system of "price-in-checking",  had 
been eliminated on 1 April 2000, and that such measures would not be reintroduced except in 
accordance with WTO Agreements.  The Wo rking Party took note of this commitment. 
79. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that as  from the date of its accession Lithuania would 
not use any form of reference price of fixed values  to establish the value of imports and exports for 
customs purposes.  He also stated that from the date of its accession Lithuania's customs valuation legislation and practice would be in full conform ity with the relevant WTO provisions, including 
Article VII of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Implem entation of Article VII without any transition  
period.  The Working Party t ook note of this commitment. 
Rules of Origin
 
80. The representative of Lithuania said that Lithuania followed the work of the World Customs 
Organization and the WTO regarding a harmonization programme for non-pr eferential rules of origin.  
In the meantime, Lithuania was taking into ac count and implementing the results of the WTO 
negotiations to maintain a transparent sy stem for non-preferential rules of  origin;  to administer these 
rules of origin in a consistent uniform, impartial and reasonable manner;  and to base these rules of 
origin on a positive standard.  According to Chapter 5 of the Customs Code and Government Resolution 
No. 1077 of 1 October 1997 "On the Order of Determ ination of Non-Preferen tial Origin of Goods", 
which was based on the Implementing Provisions of the Community Customs Code (Commission  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 27 
 
 
Regulation 93/2454/EEC), goods originated in a country if wholly obtained or produced in that country 
or, if more than one country was involved, wh ere the raw materials or components underwent 
substantial, economically justifie d processing or working.  Processing or working was considered 
substantial if resulting in a change in four-digit HS tariff heading for the new product, in other cases also 
when the value of materials or components which di d not have country origin status formed not more 
than 50 per cent of the costs of value as well as for goods having undergone specific processing methods 
as indicated in Government Resolution No. 1077.  Thes e criteria applied in re spect of goods originating 
in countries enjoying most-favoured-n ation status in Lithuania.  Impo rts from these countries satisfying 
the origin criteria would be subj ect to conventional (i.e. MFN) tari ff rates, otherwise the (normally 
higher) autonomous tariff rates would apply. 
81. He added that Chapter 5 of the Customs Code, which had entered into force on 1 January 1998, 
provided the framework for the application of non-prefer ential rules of origin which, in his view, were 
WTO-consistent.  Those provisions stated, inter  alia, that the originating status of a particular good was 
either the country where the good had been wholly  obtained or, when more than one country was 
concerned in its production, the country where the last  substantial transformation had been carried out.  
According to the Law on Customs Tariff, which had entered into force on 1 July 1998 and replaced the 
old Law, the country from which goods were imported  into Lithuania was defined according to the 
regulations of the Customs Code  and international agreements. 
82. A member reviewed the information provided by Lithuania and was not convinced that 
Lithuania's rules of origin system met the procedur al obligations in the WTO Agreement on Rules of 
Origin.  Specifically, regarding pr eferential rules of origin, Lit huania was asked to confirm that 
administrative determinati ons of general application for preferenti al rules of origin were issued; that 
when issuing administrative dete rminations of general application, the method for calculating the 
ad valorem  percentage criterion would be indicated in the preferential rules of orig in;  that assessments 
of the preferential origin accorded to a good were issued as soon as pos sible, but no later than 150 days 
after a request for such an assessm ent by an exporter, importer, or an y person with a justifiable cause;  
and that any administrative actions  taken in relation to the determination of preferential origin was 
reviewable promptly by judicial, arbitral or admini strative tribunals or procedures, independent of the 
authority issuing the determination.  Lithuania wa s also asked to clarify the role of "independent 
experts" in the determination of rules of origin. 
83. The representative of Lithuania replied that preferential rules of origin, which formed an 
integral part of all free trade agreements conclude d by Lithuania and enjoying the status of law, were 
applied in accordance with the im plementing regulations of the Cust oms Department (currently the 
Order of Application of Preferential  Duties of 4 July 1997).  All free trade agreements in force had been WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 28  
 
published in the Official Gazette.   The method for calculating the ad valorem  percentage was indicated 
in the preferential rules of origin, and Lithuania appl ied it in the same manner as the EU; EFTA States 
and CEFTA countries.  Pursuant to Government Re solution No. 774 of 16 October 1992, all complaints, 
requests or suggestions of expor ters, importers or any other pers on, including requests concerning 
assessments of preferential origin, were to be considered within one month. The Customs Code 
contained similar provisions on the examination of re quests; where request for a decision was made in 
writing the decision should be made within 8 workin g days, unless laws and ot her legal acts provided 
another term, and a decision requiri ng additional information should be made within thirty working 
days.  Exceptionally, the customs authorities could exceed the stipulated period by up to 10 working 
days.  The applicant would be informed in writi ng of the decision or the extension of the period 
necessary for the examination of the request.  Acco rding to the Customs Code, legal and natural persons 
had the right to appeal against all decisions taken by customs authorities including the determination of 
preferential origin to the Customs Department and/or to the Court. 
84. Concerning the "independent experts", the representative of Lithuania said that this expression 
referred to private individuals or entities, li censed by the Customs Department, examining goods 
produced in Lithuania or exported from Lithuania, including verification of prices and preliminary 
assessment of preferential origin.  The assessment procedure for goods  produced in Lithuania had been 
established by the Ministry of I ndustry and Trade and Customs Department on 26 March 1993.  Such 
examination was not obligatory for exporting compan ies; they could present documents proving the 
origin of goods or their own motivated conclusions.  The experts were required to pass a test at the 
Customs Department once a year;  ten "independent e xperts" had been certified for 2000.  The experts 
were normally employees of companies carrying out such examinations, i.e. "Beckmann&Jorgensen kontrole" (Klaipeda), the Joint Stock Company Ltd. "S iauliu prekiu ekspertize" (Siauliai), the Joint 
Stock Company "Impeksservis" (Vilnius), "Kauno prekiu ekspertize" (Kaunas), and the Vilnius 
Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts.  Most of these enterprises were me mbers of the Lithuanian 
Association of the Goods’ Examination Enterprises.  According to the procedure for assigning experts 
approved pursuant to the Statute of this Associatio n, the experts were prohibited from disseminating 
confidential information.  The procedure for assi gning experts was based on the rules of the German 
Chamber of Commerce.  Customs was not bound by ex aminations performed by "independent experts" 
– whose functions were of auxiliary or purely technica l nature - and in issuing documents on preferential 
origin of goods these examinations would be verifi ed once more.  The final decision and the approval of 
certificates of origin of goods we re taken by Customs or the Chamber of Commerce.  He stressed that 
the "independent experts" did not evaluate whether or not imported goods fulfil led the requirements of 
preferential rules.  The only function performed by  the experts in respect of rules of origin was a 
preliminary assessment as to whether goods destined  for export fulfilled the re quirements of preferential  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 29 
 
 
rules of origin in force.  Payment for the work perf ormed by the experts was calculated case-by-case and 
was approximate to the cost of the service rendered. 
85. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that fr om the date of accessi on Lithuania's laws and 
regulations on rules of origin for both MFN and prefer ential trade would be [applied] in conformity with 
the provisions of the WTO Agreement on  Rules of Origin[, in particular the provisions of Annex II].  In 
this regard, the requirements of Ar ticle 2(h) and Annex II, paragraph 3( d), i.e., that for non-preferential 
and preferential rules of origin, respectively, its customs authority will provide upon the request of an 
exporter, importer or any person w ith a justifiable cause an assessmen t of the origin of the import and 
outline the terms under which it will be provided.  [Any request for such an assessment would be 
accepted even before trade in the goods concerned began.  Any such assessment would be binding for 
three years.]   The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Other Customs Formalities  
86. Customs procedures had been streamlined for imports and exports of small consignments and 
frequent traders.  The Customs Code contained appr opriate provisions regarding the application of 
simplified procedures.  Further work on simplifi cation of existing customs procedures included the 
creation of a Customs Information System ba sed on the ASYCUDA package of UNCTAD and the 
establishment of audit units at regional customs hou ses.  These steps should reduce delays in customs 
clearance of goods at the border. 
Pre-Shipment Inspection  
87. The representative of Lithuania said that Lithuani a did not engage private sector firms to carry 
out pre-shipment inspection.  In case such a system would be introduced in the future, it would be 
temporary and consistent with the provisions an d requirements of the WTO, in particular the 
Agreements on Preshipment Inspection and Customs Valuation. 
Anti-Dumping, Countervailing Du ties and Safeguard Regimes  
88. Some members of the Working Party requested information about the status of legislation 
related to anti-dumping, countervailing duties and safeguard measures and it s conformity with WTO 
disciplines.  Lithuania was asked to provide an update on its intent and the development of legislation.  
A member reminded Lithuania that in the absence of  the required legislation,  Lithuania would not be 
able to avail itself of the temporary protecti on mechanisms provided for in the relevant WTO 
Agreements. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 30  
 
89. The representative of Lithuania replied that Lithuania had approved a Law on Antidumping, 
which followed fully the requireme nts of the WTO regarding anti-dumping, on 23 June 1998.  The Law 
had entered into force on 1 July 1998, and implementing re gulations concerning the determination of 
normal value, export price, dumping margin, domestic  industry and injury, and the procedure for spot 
investigation had also been appr oved.  Lithuania had adopted the Law on Countervailing Duties, and the 
Law on Safeguards, on 23 May 2000. 
90. The representative of Lithuania said that any le gislation in place at th e time of accession or 
implemented in the future providing for the applica tion of measures taken for safeguard, anti-dumping 
or countervailing duty purposes  would conform to the provisions of the WTO Agreements on 
Safeguards, on Anti-dumping and on Subsidies and C ountervailing Measures.  In the absence of such 
legislative authority in place at the time of accessi on, Lithuania would not appl y measures for safeguard, 
anti-dumping or countervailing duty pur poses until legislation in conform ity with the provisions of these 
WTO Agreements had been impl emented.  The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
EXPORT REGULATIONS Customs Tariffs, Fees and Charges for Services Rend ered, Application of Internal Taxes to Exports
 
91. The representative of Lithuania said that export duties ranging from 15 to 50 per cent had been 
imposed temporarily on certain raw materials of importance to the local industry.  All these export 
duties had been abolished in October 1994 by Govern ment Resolution No. 985.  Effective 1 July 1996, 
all export prohibitions of interest to the domestic i ndustry had been lifted and replaced by export duties 
of 60 per cent, applied on an MF N basis, through Government Resolution No. 268 of 24 March 1997.  
In accordance with an amendmen t to Government Resolution No. 268 of 4 January 2000, all export 
duties had been eliminated, except for raw hides and skins, effective 10 January 2000.  The export duties 
on raw hides and skins had been reduced from 30 to 15 per cent.  [The products currently subject to 
export duties are listed in Table 9. 1.]  Export duties applie d on a bilateral basis al so affected only raw 
hides and skins, and were applied in accordance with the same amendment and at the same rate 
(Table 9.2, and discussed in further detail in the section "Trade Agreements ").  All export duties, 
including those based on bilateral agreements, would be eliminated by 1 January 2001.  The 
representative of Lithuania confirme d that any changes in the export tariff regime would be published in 
the Official Gazette. 
92. Exported goods (other than raw hides and skins)  were exempt from customs duties and VAT.  
Lithuania maintained some customs fees on exportati on as part of the application of the Stamp Tax.  
These fees were related or limited to the approximate cost of the services rendered.  The fees and charges are enumerated in [Table 5].  The ne w Customs Code, which had entered into force on  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 31 
 
 
1 January 1998, provided a framework for the impl ementation of a duty drawback system in its 
Section 6 pertaining to inward processing.  Artic le 125 of Section  6 allowed the holder of an 
authorization (generally the importe r) to request the Government of L ithuania to repay an import duty 
when the authorization holder could prove that th e imported good had been exported as part of a 
compensation product (a product incorporating the good originally imported).  The refunded duty was 
limited to the amount of import duties paid for th e originally imported products included in the 
compensating product, and thus did not constitute a subsidy to the exporter. 
93. A member stated that L ithuania should eliminate the difference  in the application of its export 
tariffs, and should commit that afte r accession, it would minimize the use of such taxes and that they 
would be applied in accordance with the provisi ons of the WTO Agreement.  The representative of 
Lithuania said that use of export taxes would be co nsistent with WTO norms.  Any such taxes at the 
time of accession would be in the Working Party repor t.  After accession, any subsequent use of such 
measures would be published in the Offi cial Gazette and notified to the WTO. 
Export Restrictions  
94. The representative of Lithuania said that all previous export bans had been abolished by 
Government Resolution No. 716 (of 18 June 1996) and replaced by export duties (Tables 9.1 and 9.2).  
Non-automatic licences or permits were required for exports of objects  of cultural value (including raw 
materials of amber), wild animals (including their eggs, furs and st uffed animals), hunting and fishing 
trophies, products made from non-worke d wild animals or their parts, objects of geological value, and 
colour copy machines.  Licences we re also required to engage in exportation of narcotics and highly 
effective substances (non-automati c), and oil products (automatic).  The Law concerning Control of 
Import, Transit and Export of St rategic Goods and Technologies, en tering into force on 1 July 1997, 
stipulated licensing by the Minist ry of National Economy for exports of dual use goods, technologies 
and software.  As a temporar y measure in 1995, continued through 1996, the Government had 
maintained certain export restricti ons during periods of short supply of grain, flour and compound feed.  
In the future, export quotas on agricultural products  would only be temporar y measures applied in 
emergency situations and, as  from accession, in conformity with GATT 1994 obligations. 
95. Some members asked Lithuania to provide the WTO justification for export licences.  In reply, 
the representative of Lithua nia said that automatic licensing for export of o il products was maintained 
for monitoring purposes, and that the licences for du al use products served to check and identify the use 
of the product at the foreign destination.  Permit s for export of wild animals, hunting and fishing 
trophies, products made from wild  animals or their parts were re quired for the purpose of plant and 
animal protection;  export permit s for colour copy machines sought  to prevent illegal printing of WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 32  
 
counterfeit documents;  and permits for export of objects of geological  and cultural value were, in his 
view, justified on the basis of GATT Article XX. 
96. The representative of Lithuania sa id that from the date of acce ssion export restrictions would 
only be imposed in conformity with the provisions of Article XI of the GA TT 1994.  The Working Party 
took note of this commitment. 
Export Subsidies
 
97. The representative of Lithuania said that L ithuania did not maintain any non-agricultural 
export subsidies, but he provide d information on export promotion measures.  His Government had 
adopted a Resolution "On Actions Improving Foreig n Trade Regulation and Export Development" in 
January 1995.  The Resolution covered drafting of  legislation, export promotion and funding, 
management of trade-related informa tion and education and training of export specialists.  Lithuania had 
also adopted a National Pr ogramme of Implementation of Lithuani an Foreign Trade Policy Guidelines 
for 1996-1998.  The programme included implemen tation of an export programme set up by the 
Lithuanian Development Agency and the establishm ent of an Export Promotion Fund and "Insurance of 
Lithuanian Export and Import" (LEID), in December 1997.   
98. He added that five export promotion institu tions were functioning in Lithuania, i.e. the 
Lithuanian Development Agency (LDA), the Insuranc e of Lithuanian Export and Import (LEID), the 
Export Promotion Fund, the Lithuanian Agricultura l International Trade Agency (LAITA) and the 
Lithuanian Agricultural Products and Foodstuff Market Regulation Agency (LAPFMRA).  The 
Lithuanian Development Agency (LDA), establis hed in accordance with Government Resolution 
No.432 of 8 May 1997, performed a very  important role in export promo tion.  The objective of the LDA 
was to provide comprehensive information on invest ment opportunities, conditi ons and procedures and 
to promote exports of Lithuanian goods and demand  for Lithuanian services.  The LDA had been 
established on the basis of two ag encies, i.e. the Lithuanian Export Promotion Agency (established at 
the end of 1995) and the Lithuanian Investment Ag ency (established at the end of 1993).  The LDA’s 
main functions were to facilitate business partnerships  and assist in contracts w ith Lithuanian authorities 
and business organizations;  to analyze and provide information to Lithuanian  exporters and service 
providers on foreign market conditions;  to establish Lithuania's trade representa tion offices abroad;  to 
prepare, implement and monitor trade development programmes to ensure their consistency with WTO 
rules;  to study issues affecting trade activiti es and formulate recommen dations to Lithuanian 
authorities;  to consult State, public and private in stitutions on foreign trade issues;  and to provide 
education and training to the forei gn trade community in Lithuania.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 33 
 
 
99. LEID, which was minimum 51 per cent governme nt-owned, insured bank loans related to 
production and export of goods and services.  Responding to dema nds from the lending banks, 
companies concluded insurance contracts and paid the required premium to LEID.  The Government 
had allocated Llt 27.6 million for the formation of the in itial capital, reserves, et c., and had issued State 
guarantees for insurance co ntracts amounting to Llt 50 million.  Th e Government had the right to cover 
LEID losses related to the insurance of political risk .  He stated that LEID activities were based on the 
principles of the Bern Arrangement and recommendations of the OECD.  The Business Development 
Council supervised LEID activities, decisions to assume losses of the LEID for insured political risks, 
etc.  In addition, the Council decided on the financi ng of other export support meas ures, such as training, 
co-financing of exhibitions and fair s, preparation of prospects and ca talogues, co-financed introduction 
of international standards and quality systems, etc.  Some Llt 9 million had been allocated for such 
purposes in 1998, and about Llt 15.9 million in 1999. 
100. The purpose of the Export Promotion Fund, es tablished in December 1997, was to accumulate 
the State budget allocations designed  to finance the export promotion measures, to increase LEID’s 
(Insurance of Lithuanian Export and Import) capital or to execute unde rtaken guarantee obligations of 
the State with regard to companies which concluded insurance contracts.  Th e Lithuanian Agricultural 
International Trade Agency (LAITA) had been launched  in April 1997 by the Ministry of Agriculture to 
strengthen export promotion activities in Lithuania with the aim to assist the food and agriculture 
industry to improve the competitive position of Lith uanian produce in local and global markets.  The 
State Enterprise Lithuanian Agricultural Pr oducts and Foodstuff Mark et Regulation Agency 
(LAPFMRA), founded in May 1998, was responsible for the executi on of Lithuania's agricultural 
products and foodstuff market regula tion and export stimulation program,  for the purchase and sale of 
agricultural products and surplus f oodstuff production; etc.  Lithuani a had notified LAPFMRA as a State 
trading enterprise on 17 Marc h 1999 (document WT/ACC/LTU/31). 
101. The representative of Lithuania said that Lit huania would not maintain, and from the date of 
accession would not introduce, subsidies which met the definition of a prohibited subsidy within the 
meaning of Article 3 of the Agr eement on Subsidies and Countervaili ng Measures and would therefore 
not seek a transitional period for the elimination of such measures.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment. 
INTERNAL POLICIES AFFECTING FOREIGN TRADE IN GOODS Industrial Policy, including Subsidies
 
102. The representative of Lithuania expected that  more time would be required to restructure 
Lithuania's industrial sector.  The policy was to give pr iority to strategic restructuring, i.e. encourage the WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 34  
 
development of new products, entry into new market s, the creation of international companies, quality 
improvement, reducing production costs and restructuri ng of pre-privatization large-scale entities.  
Industries targeted for developmen t included food and beverages;  li ght industry;  wood processing and 
furniture;  construction materials;  machinery;  electr onics and electrical engine ering;  chemicals and oil 
processing;  and pharmaceuticals.  Potentially competitive enterprises had been identified through 
indicators such as current exports , labour productivity and size of in vestments.  The Government had 
rejected applications for direct subsidies and other forms of fina ncial support, giving more attention to 
general measures to improve the ec onomic and legal environment.  Th e Government paid due attention 
to the support of scientific resear ch, introduction of innovations, enviro nmental protection, assistance to  
newly established ente rprises and the promotion of their establ ishment.  Other State support measures 
were related to credit insurance, promotion of small and medium sized enterprises and quality 
improvement, the implementation of Small and Medium Business Development and other programs.  
Government agencies also played a role in seeking foreign partners for Lithuanian enterprises, and in channeling foreign technica l assistance in strategi c planning, company restructuring or in improving 
management skills to the recipients.  Local authorities had the right to grant direct tax deductions for the 
development of small and medium si zed enterprises, or direct tax exemptions for limited periods, in 
which case the local authorities were required to co mpensate the State budget for the shortfall in tax 
revenue.  Certain subsidies were al so provided to the State enterpri ses "Lietuvos Past as" (Lithuanian 
Post), "Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai" (Lithuanian Railways ) and to the State Agency for Inland Transport.  
Lithuania did not provide any other assistance to the in dustrial sector (other than  tariff protection as laid 
down in the national customs tariff). 
103. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania did not maintain subsidies, including 
export subsidies, which met the defini tion of a prohibited subsidy within the meaning of Article 3 of the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Count ervailing Measures, and that it w ould not introduce such prohibited 
subsidies in the future.  The representative of Li thuania confirmed that any subsidy programs would be 
administered in line with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and that all 
necessary information on programs to be notified, if such exist, would be provided to the Committee on 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in accordance  with Article 25 of the Agreement upon entry into 
force of Lithuania’s Protocol of  Accession.  The Working Part y took note of this commitment. 
Technical Barriers to Trade, Standards and certification
 
104. The representative of Lithuania explained that Lithuania was in a process of transition where 
mandatory (GOST) standards esta blished under the former USSR sy stem were replaced by a new 
system of voluntary standards and mandatory techni cal regulations.  The Lithuanian Standards Board 
had performed functions relating to standardiza tion, metrology, conformity assessment and quality  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 35 
 
 
assurance until 1 January 1998, when the Board had been reorganized (Government Resolution No.105) 
in three State institutions under the Ministry of Public Administration Refo rms and Local Authorities, 
i.e. the Lithuanian Standards Board, the State Metr ology Service and the National Accreditation Bureau.   
The Lithuanian Standards Board ha d membership status within various international and European 
standardization organizations to facilitate adoption of internati onal and European standards as 
Lithuanian standards.  The Lithuanian Standards Bo ard had been an affiliate member of the European 
Committee for Electrotec hnical Standardization (CENELEC) sinc e 1997, an affiliate member of the 
European Committee for Standardization (CEN ) since 1993, a member of the European 
Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) since 1996,  a correspondent member of the International 
Organization for Standardization (I SO) since 1992, and an associated  member of the International 
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) since 1996.  The State Metrology Service had been a correspondent 
member of the Organization for Legal Metrology (OIML) since 1994.  The functions of national 
accreditation body were fulfilled by  the National Accreditation Bureau in Lithuania.  The Bureau was 
responsible for accreditation of te sting, calibration laboratories, cert ification bodies for products, quality 
systems and personnel, as well as  for inspection bodies.  The Bureau had been full member of the 
European cooperation for Accreditation (EA) since J une 1999.  Lithuania had co ncentrated it s resources 
toward implementation of a long-term programme for the adoption of international and European 
standards as Lithuanian standards,  covering approximately 800 internat ional and European standards.  
By April 2000, adopted European and international standards as Lithuanian standards comprised 66.5 
per cent of all Lithuanian standa rds.  According to the Law on St andardization, adopted on 11 April 
2000, the status of the Lithuanian Standards Board had been changed from a governmental institution to 
a non-profit association.  The Lithua nian Standards Board followed the principles of international and 
European standardization.  Lit huanian standards were drafted in technical committees with the 
participation of manufacturers, consumers and repr esentatives of State institutions on a voluntary and 
equal basis.  The technical committees had been esta blished according to the so-c alled "mirror principle" 
in relation to the technical committees of internatio nal and European standardization organizations.  A 
national technical committee would nevertheless follow and take active part in the activities  of several 
corresponding technical committees of in ternational and European organizations. 
105. A member noted that some of the legislatio n critical to the development of Lithuania's 
standards regime was still in prep aration and expected Lithuania to adopt all necessary  legislation to 
implement fully all obligations under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trad e prior to the date of 
accession. 
106. The representative of Lithuania said that all work  required to bring technical regulations into 
conformity with the WTO Agreement on TBT had b een completed.  A Law on Metrology had been 
adopted in July 1996.  A Law on Standardization,  which defined the organizational framework for WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 36  
 
standardization, including the ba sic principles, functiona l requirements and main  resources, had been 
adopted on 11 April 2000.  The Law on Conformity Assessment had been approved in October 1998.  
The Law defined the main principles of the conf ormity assessment system covering mandatory and 
voluntary sectors, and the structure of the system, including accreditation, testing, certification, 
inspection and suppliers' declaration.  A Law on Product s' Safety had been adopt ed on 1 June 1999.  The 
Law determined the general requirements for produ ct safety, the basis for imposition of technical 
regulations, and the general principl es for the functioning of a market surveillance system.  Lithuania 
had established the TBT Enquiry Point at the Lith uanian Standards Board in  November 1996.  The 
Enquiry Point, inter alia, fulfilled the function of enquiry point in conformity  with the WTO Agreement 
on TBT and would also provide notif ications.  Rules governing the exchange of information between 
Ministries involved in standards issues and the enquiry point, including the notification requirements, 
had been approved by the Government on 20 May 1999.   Lithuania had introduced provisions allowing 
foreigners to comment on technical regulations not co nsistent with international norms.  Information on 
draft standards in Lithuania was publis hed in the official bulletin of the Lithuanian Standards Board.  
Basic rules of proced ure for technical work relating to the prep aration and adoption of international and 
European standards as Lit huanian standards and the Code of Good  Practice, as required under Annex 3 
of the TBT Agreement, had been approved on 22 Fe bruary 1999.  The representative of Lithuania 
provided a detailed checklist of on TBT requiremen ts and compliance by Lithuania in document 
WT/ACC/LTU/41. 
107. Lithuania's system of conformity assessment, notably the certification activities, was based on 
normative documents prepared according to ISO/IE C guidelines, mainly ISO/IEC Guides 22 and 28, 
and the Supplier's Declaration of Conformity.  Domestic and importe d goods were treated equally.  
Lithuanian certification bodies coul d recognize certificates issued by foreign bodies in accordance with 
the relevant procedures.  Certif ication bodies had been establishe d for mandatory certification of 
electrical appliances (the Certification Centre of Electrotechnical Production in Vilnius), for 
general-purpose electronic equipment (the Stat e Medical and Electronic Equipment Centre of 
Certification "SERTIKA" in Kaunas), for constructi on materials (the State enterprise Certification 
Centre of Building Products in Vilnius), and for info rmation technology products (the State Certification 
Body "Infostruktura").  The four  certification bodies based their work on Government Resolution No. 
474 of 22 June 1992, Order No. 160/114 of 29 June 1995 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and 
Lithuania's Standards Board, Government Resolu tion No. 593 of 12 June 1997, and Government 
Resolution No. 687 of 26 June 1997. 
108. Foreign certificates for impor ted oil products needed to co rrespond to mandatory quality 
indicators approved by the Ministry of Economy.  Government Resolution No. 883 
(29 November 1993) On the Approval of Traffic Rules established tec hnical inspection requirements for  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 37 
 
 
imported vehicles.  All pharmaceutic al products required registration be fore being sold in Lithuania.  
Some other non-food items were subject to verifi cation requirements under Government Resolution 
No. 53/89 of 31 August 1994.  Marking regulations had been established by Order No. 42/25/107 of 
23 February 1995.  For other technical requ irements see document WT/ACC/LTU/7/Add.1. 
109. Conformity assessment procedur es were established by legal acts of responsible government 
institutions.  The Law on Conformity Assessment did not contain specific guidelines for testing 
laboratories, certification bodies , inspection bodies and accreditati on bodies, but indicated that 
participants in the conformity assessment system should meet the requirements of international and 
relevant European documents and other related regul ations.  The Law permitted Lithuania to recognize 
product test reports and issue certificates of conformity  in accordance with procedures established by the 
relevant international agreements.  Lithuania ha d signed agreements on mutual recognition of test 
reports and certificates of  conformity with Poland, Slovakia, Bulg aria, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine;  
agreements with the Czech Republi c and Romania were under negotiatio n.  Cooperation agreements on 
accreditation between the corresponding institutions of  Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia had also been 
signed.  Lithuania recognized certif icates of conformity of forei gn countries after performing their 
recognition procedure by the relevant  Lithuanian certifica tion bodies.  Lithuania re cognized certificates 
for measuring instruments issued by the Internatio nal Organization for Legal Metrology (OIML).  The 
representative of Lithuania stressed that no relatio nship existed between the certification process and 
import licensing requirements. 
110. The representative of Lithuania stated that Lithuania would ensure that its technical 
regulations, standards, certifica tion and labelling requirements were  not applied to imports in an 
arbitrary manner, in a way that discriminates between supplier countries where the same conditions apply, or as a disguised restriction on international trade.  He added that  Lithuanian legal acts relating to 
technical measures applicable to trade regulated domestically and fo reign made products uniformly, and 
did not give rise to any discrimina tion between producers or suppliers. 
111. The representative of Lithuani a stated that, upon accession to  the WTO, Lithuania would 
comply with all the provisions of the Agreement on T echnical Barriers to Trade without recourse to any 
transitional arrangements.  The Working Party took  note of this commitment. 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
 
112. The representative of Lithuania said that all work  required to bring Lithua nia's regulations into 
conformity with the Agreement on the Application of  Sanitary and Phytosanit ary Measures had been 
completed.  He added that Lithuania had renewed it s membership in the Organisation International des 
Epizooties (OIE) in 1992, and joined the Codex A limentarius Commission in  1992 and the European WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 38  
 
and Mediterranean Plant Protecti on Organization (EPPO) in 1998.  Lithuania had ratified the 
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) in November 1999.  Lithuania based its SPS measures 
on international standards and guide lines established by these organi zations to the greatest extent 
possible.  For the purpose of transparency, his Go vernment had adopted a Resolution in February 1999 
which made all legal acts subject to public notice to enable the subm ission of remarks and suggestions 
by those concerned, including on draft SPS legislation.   He provided informatio n on specific Lithuanian 
requirements pertaining to seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, animal and plant health, feeds, plant breeders' 
rights, fruit and berries, food a dditives and contaminants, packag ing and labelling standards, and 
inspections of meat, dairy products, eggs and egg prod ucts.  The requirements fo r items intended to be 
imported were the following: 
 - Seeds - presentation of phytosanitary certificate issued by the State Plant Protection 
Service of the exporter country and a seed quality certificate issu ed by the responsible 
authority of the exporting country; 
 - Fertilizer - suppliers' decl aration of conformity (or qua lity certificate), and products 
needed to be identical to information stated on their label; 
 - Pesticides - product permitted to use in Lithuania and included in the national positive 
list of pesticides prior to importation (in th e sense of SPS requirements, fertilizers and 
pesticides could be evaluated only as  contaminants for quantity reasons); 
 - Plants and plant products – presentation of phytosanitary certificate issued by the State 
Plant Protection Authority of the exporter c ountry and import permit issued by the State 
Plant Protection Service of Lithuania; 
 - Plant breeders' rights - presentation of phyto sanitary certificate issued by the State Plant 
Protection Service of the exporter country; 
 - Foodstuff of vegetable origin (processed fru it, berries, vegetables, etc.) and foodstuff 
of combined origin (margarine, mayonnaise, etc.) - presentation of suppliers' 
declaration of conformity (according to EN 45014) of the exporter country;  sanitary 
inspection of these products provided by customs within Lithuania; 
 - Foodstuff of animal origin (meat, dair y, poultry, fish products) and foodstuff of 
combined origin with a large amount (more than 20 per cent) of components of 
animal origin - presentation of veterinary certificate of the exporter country;  veterinary inspection of these products provided at the border; 
 - Food additives and their mixtures - items needed to be included in the national 
register of food additives - suppliers' decl aration of conformity (specification of 
purity levels) of the exporter country;  for food additives as a component of a 
foodstuff - obligatory compliance with the food additives requirements established in 
Lithuanian Hygiene Norm HN 53-1998;  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 39 
 
 
 - Contaminants - chemical and microbiologica l contamination levels of foodstuffs not to 
exceed the maximum limits established in Lithuanian Hygiene Norms HN 54-1998 and 
HN 26-1998; 
 - Packaging - requirements laid down in Lithuanian Hygiene Norm HN 77-1998;  and 
 - Labelling - all requirements harmonized to  Codex Alimentarius provisions;  labelling 
should be in Lithuanian language. 
Further information regarding veterinary matters wa s provided to the Working Party in a note entitled 
"Veterinary Requirements of the Republic of Lithuania". 
113. The representative of Lithuania provided info rmation on Lithuania's progress in implementing 
the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Sanitary  and Phytosanitary Measures in document 
WT/ACC/LTU/22 of 14 May 1998 an d WT/ACC/LTU/22/Add.1 of 17 March 1999.  The submission 
listed the institutions responsible for application of SPS measures;  relevant legislation pertaining to 
foodstuffs and food safety, non-processed agricultural co mmodities and animal hea lth, and plant health;  
and outlined plans for recognizing equivalence of SPS regulations of exporting countries and 
implementation of transparency provisions.  He also provided a checklist of SPS requirements and 
compliance by Lithuania in document WT/ACC/LTU/43. 
114. Imported foodstuffs were required to pass through border crossing points manned to perform 
foodstuff controls.  The Ministry of Health Care ha d approved a list of foodstuffs subject to quality 
control, thus requiring phytosanitary, veterinary or  health and safety certificates on importation.  
Products included in the list are enumerated in Table 10.  Lith uania required veterinary and 
phytosanitary certificates for pr ocessed foodstuffs only to ensure  that imported products fulfilled 
appropriate veterinary and phytosa nitary requirements (such as an imal health and public health 
attestations). 
115. In response to a request from a member for an explanation as to why processed foodstuffs 
required a veterinary or phytosanitary permit, as these are consumer-ready products, the representative 
of Lithuania said that certificates  were required for certain foodstuffs  in accordance with international 
rules as some processing methods (e.g. sm oking of meat) did not eradicate bacteria. 
116. A member inquired about the relationship be tween foodstuff certification and import 
licensing.  The representative of Lithuania replied that at present the Government approved a list of 
products and foodstuff subject to control on im portation.  Foodstuff subject to veterinary or 
phytosanitary import control in Lithuania (Table 10);  veterinary certificates required for all raw and processed products of animal orig in (Table 11(a)), and all unprocesse d products of plant origin subject 
to phytosanitary certification (Table 11(b)) required certification of each  consignment.  The issuance of WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 40  
 
certificates was coordinate d between the State Veterinary Service and the State Plant Protection Service 
at the Ministry of Agriculture.  For products subj ect to veterinary inspecti on (Tables 10 and 11(a)), the 
importer should apply for an import permit to the St ate Veterinary Service stating details concerning the 
product, its origin, the exporting country and the border crossing point.  An import permit would be 
issued without delay provided the epizootic situ ation in the exporting country was propitious.  A 
suppliers' conformity declar ation would suffice for consumer product s and other foodstuff (all processed 
products of non-animal origin) not s ubject to veterinary or phytosanita ry certification.  Exporters' own 
declaration would suffice for fertilize r.  Products not specific ally listed were not subject to certification 
or suppliers' declaration.  He added that Gove rnment Resolution No. 1132 "On the Approval of the 
Order on Import of Foodstuffs and Their Control of  Harmless and Quality" of 8 October 1999 (which 
had replaced the corresponding Order of 9 October 19 97) regulated the system for the importation of 
foodstuff.  The State Veterinary Se rvice and the Nutrition Centre in the Ministry of Health Care had 
prepared a register of foodstuff importers, which had entered into fo rce on 1 July 1998.  The register 
improved the surveillance and control of importers  and guaranteed importation of safe products only. 
117. A member pointed out that Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on SPS required Lithuania to 
carry out risk assessment.  A member expected Lithua nia to establish its SPS en quiry point and adopt all 
necessary legislation to implement fully all obligations under the Agreement on SPS by the date of 
accession to the WTO. 
118. The representative of Lithuania replied that Li thuania’s legal and institutional structure had 
been adjusted to comply with  the requirements of WTO Agreement on SPS.  The Law on Food had 
been approved on 4 April 2000.  He added that a syst em of risk assessment for food had been introduced 
in several steps during the period 1994-2000 with the a pproval of six major laws - the Law on Health 
System, the Law Products Safety, the Law on Food, the Law on Health Care Institutions, the Law on 
Phytosanitary and the Law (with its Amendments ) on Veterinary Activities.  The laws gave 
responsibility for the implementation of the risk assessment mechanis m to the National Nutrition Center 
at the Ministry of Health, the State Hygiene Inspectorate, the State Veterinary Service and to the State Plant Protection Service.  The Law on Products Safety determined the general re quirements for products 
safety, the basis for the imposition of SPS regulations, and the general principles for the operation of a 
market surveillance system.  Further supplementing provisions on risk assessment based on the SPS 
Agreement had been approved by Parliament on 7 October 1999 with the Amendment and Supplement 
to the Law on Veterinary Activities.  The La w on Phytosanitary, approved on 16 December 1999, 
established general compulsory phy tosanitary requirements consiste nt with the SPS Agreement, the 
basis of phytosanitary control for the physical a nd legal entities, and measures for the prevention of 
importation and dissemination of harmful organisms.  The Law on Food finalized the mechanism for  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 41 
 
 
risk assessment of food.  With this step, Lithuania had completed the harmonization of its SPS 
legislation and brought it into fu ll compliance with WTO requirements.  
119. As for transparency, Lithuania published prompt ly all adopted sanitary and phytosanitary 
regulations in the Official Gazette.  Lithuania ha d established the SPS Enquiry point, which would also 
carry out the notifications of the Agreement, at the Ministry of Agriculture.  Three institutions – the 
National Nutrition Center at the Ministry of Health, the State Plant Protection Service and the State 
Veterinary Service – would provide information to the SPS Enquiry Point for distribution according to 
the requirements of the Agreement.  The SPS Enquiry  Point would be responsible for responding to all 
relevant questions of WTO members and supply a ppropriate documentation on (i) any proposed or 
adopted SPS regulation;  (ii) procedures for determination of risk and the corresponding level of SPS 
protection;  and (iii) Lithuanian  participation and the nature of  its commitments arising from 
international and regional sanitary and phytosanita ry organizations and syst ems, and bilateral or 
multilateral agreements and arrangements within the scope of the SPS Agreement, including the texts of 
such agreements and arrangements. 
120. The representative of Lithuani a stated that, upon accession to  the WTO, Lithuania would 
apply all its sanitary and phytosan itary requirements consistently with the requirements of the WTO, 
including the Agreements on the Application of Sa nitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Import 
Licensing Procedures, without recourse to any tran sitional arrangements.  Th e Working Party took note 
of this commitment. 
Trade-Related Investment Measures  
121. The representative of Lithuania said that his Government had reviewed carefully the 
provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Relate d Investment Measures (TRIMs), including its 
Annex and had concluded that Lithuania did not ma intain any measures inconsistent with the TRIMs 
Agreement.  His Government applied the principl e of national treatment and did not resort to 
performance requirements which coul d affect trade.  Lithuania wa s ready to implement fully the 
provisions of the WTO TRIMs Agreement upon accessi on without exception or transitional periods.  
122. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania would not invoke the provisions of 
the TRIMs Agreement that provide for the progressive  elimination of measures inconsistent with the 
TRIMs Agreement within a fixed period of time as it did not maintain any such measures and would not 
introduce any such measures in the future.  Th e Working Party took note of this commitment. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 42  
 
State-Trading Entities
 
123. The representative of Lithuania said that the Law on Trade, adopted in January 1995, 
authorized the establishment of St ate monopolies in any sector in em ergency situations (war, natural 
calamities, etc.) and to protect hea lth and safety.  He considered su ch measures consistent with the 
provisions of the GATT 1994.  Exclusive rights existe d for State enterprises, or special enterprises in 
which the State held all or the majority of the shares , regarding trade in radioa ctive and nuclear material 
and waste.  He added that the jo int-stock company "Lietuvos energi ja" operated as a natural monopoly 
in the production, input, transmission and distribution of energy.  However, on 8 April 1997, the Seimas 
had approved the reorganization of "Lietuvos energija" into 16 thermal supplier companies. 
124. A member understood that Lithuania used licences  to allow commerce to a certain point, and 
stated that Lithuania should no tify firms under Article XVII of th e GATT 1994 in areas where business 
licences were rationed arbitr arily or acted as quantitative restrictio ns.  Current programmes were clearly 
WTO-inconsistent, whether or not th ey qualified under Articl e XVII.  In particular, Lithuania's system 
of activity licensing appeared to restrict trade in alcoholic beverages in a manner conflicting with the 
provisions of Article XI and Ar ticle XVII of the GATT 1994.  The Government seemed to play a 
controlling role in the selection a nd limitation of firms engaging in trade in these products, in effect 
creating State-trading enterp rises.  A distribution monopoly maintain ed by the State could also distort 
import prices.  It was noted that the compan y "Lietuviškas Midus" he ld monopoly rights on the 
production of high-alcohol be verage and even if "Lietuviskas Mi dus" was notified as a State trading 
enterprise, an import ban would sti ll be problematic vis-à- vis GATT Articles III and XI.  Lithuania was 
asked to provide the criteria upon which the licens ing system for alcoholic beverages was based and 
explain how Lithuania's restrictive import sy stem could be consiste nt with WTO rules. 
125. In reply, the representative of Lithuania sa id that the Law on Amendments and Supplements 
of the Law on Enterprises of 25 September 1997 stipulated that tw o activities - the production of 
products with ethyl alcoholic strength exceeding 22 per cent, and the printing of money, coins and 
postage stamps - could only be undertaken by enterprises owned by the State or municipalities, or 
special enterprises licensed to do so.  Although the Law on Trade had establis hed the legal basis for 
introducing a State monopoly on alcohol products in ca ses of force majeure (war, famine and natural 
disasters), the present situation did not qualify as  force majeure.  Instead, his Government had 
established a State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Agency on 12 July 1996 in accordance with the Law 
on Health System and the Law on Alcohol Contro l.  The Agency did not operate a production 
monopoly;  its main functions we re to formulate and implement State policy in cooperation with 
Ministries and other governmental institutions with a view to discouraging co nsumption and reducing its 
harmful effects on the population.  The Agency its elf did not engage in production or trade, but  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 43 
 
 
performed various trade-related administrative and m onitoring tasks, including the issuance of activity 
licences, monitoring of adherence to  legal requirements, establishment of additional marking procedures 
for alcoholic beverages, etc. 
126. The representative of Lithuania reassured the Wo rking Party that the State did not maintain 
any form of distribution monopoly with respect to alcohol , nor did it play a "controlling role".  As far as 
the number of activity licenses granted for trade in alcoholic beverages was concerned, the Law on 
Amendment and Supplement to the Law on Alcohol C ontrol of 8 April 1997 had (i) eliminated all 
restrictions on the number of activity licenses to im port alcoholic beverages;  and (ii) eliminated an 
earlier requirement which had restrict ed the choice of importers' foreign partners to companies listed in 
the bulletins of the Associat ion of Manufacturers of Al coholic Beverages.  He recalled that Government 
Resolution No. 366 of 31 March 2000 had completed th e alignment of the rules governing trade in 
alcohol with the requirements of GATT 1994 by equa lising the stamp taxes on such licensing for both 
the importation and the wholesale of  alcohol and alcoholic beverages.   A member did not agree that 
Lithuania had resolved all problems of WTO-inconsistency in this area.  In particular, the current 
exemption for domestic firms producing alcoholic  beverages from the stamp tax on wholesale 
distribution clearly favoured the produ ction monopoly in the cost of distribution of its products vis-a-vis 
imports, which were distributed by  firms required to pay the wholes ale distribution stamp tax.  The 
representative of Lithuania indicated that amendments  to current law would eliminate this inconsistency 
prior to Lithuania’s accession. 
127. Concerning the company "Lietuviškas Midus", the representative of Lith uania confirmed this 
company did indeed have exclusive rights.  Li thuania had submitted a notification (document 
WT/ACC/LTU/35 of 4 June 1999) on the company's excl usive right to manufacture products with ethyl 
alcohol strength exceeding 22 per cent and on its excl usive right to produce beverages with high alcohol 
content.  "Lietuviškas Midus" was a cooperative co nsumers' enterprise producing mead in accordance 
with patented ancient recipes which Lithuania considered  to be part of its nationa l heritage.  Thus, due to 
the fact that the enterprise follo wed ancient traditions of  manufacture and was the only enterprise in 
Lithuania which manufactured national beverages, th e Government had granted "Lietuviškas Midus" the 
right to manufacture one traditional alcoholic beverage, and this until the year 2001.  The State did not 
provide the company with privileges or subsidie s, and the company had no obligations towards the 
State.  The company could import inputs for the production of mead without restrictions. 
128. Addressing the specific concerns raised about  the import ban on mead, the representative of 
Lithuania confirmed that this ban was no longer  in place.  The Law on Alcohol Control of 
10 December 1998 had removed fully the earlier import ban on mead and other alcoholic beverages with 
an alcohol content of more than 50 per cent.  Havi ng taken these steps, the re presentative of Lithuania WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 44  
 
considered that Lithuania had thus brought its alcohol regime in general, and the regime specific to the 
production of mead, into conformity with the GATT 1994. 
129. Lithuania had also notified the Lithuanian Agricultural Products and Foodstuff Market 
Regulation Agency (LAPFMRA) as State trading enterprise (document WT/ACC/LTU/31 of 17 March 1999).  The enterprise had been founded in Ma y 1998, and was responsible for the execution of 
Lithuania's agricultural products and foodstuff mark et regulation and export s timulation program, and 
for the purchase and sale of agricultural products and surplus foodstuff production. 
130. Referring to arrangements in the sugar pro cessing sector regarding an exemption from 
provisions in the Law on Competition governing domin ant firms, and the distribution of tariff-rate 
quotas, some members noted that this would appear  to be a special right within the meaning of 
Article XVII.  Moreover, if a refine rs association had any rôle in im port policy, or pr otected access to 
sugar imports on a preferential ba sis, this should be indicated by Lithuania, and justified under 
appropriate WTO agreements an d provisions, e.g. GATT, the Agreement on Import Licensing 
Procedures and the Agreement on Agriculture.  [A member considered the co mmitment paragraph had 
no meaning if Lithuania and the working part y did not agree on how Article XVII and the 
Understanding were applied and what they would mean for Lithuania's trade.] 
131. The representative of Lithuania replied that his Government had not approved any special 
rights for sugar producers.  The s ugar manufacturers' association ha d been exempt from the Law on 
Competition under previous legislation, but these pr ovisions, as well as the minimum import price and 
tariff quota arrangements, had been eliminated in accordance with the Amendment of the Law on Sugar 
of 8 July 1999. 
132. The representative of Lithuania stated that his Government had identified the following 
entities as State trading companies:  special State enterprises "Stumbras", "Viln iaus degtine", "Anyksciu 
vynas", and "Alita";  the closed-stock company "Lie tuviškas Midus" – all of them producing alcoholic 
beverages with strength greater more than 22 per cen t - and the Lithuanian Agricultural Products and 
Foodstuff Market Regulation Agency  (LAPFMRA).  His Government  had identified the trading 
activities of the entities listed above as subject to the provisions  of Article XVII of the GATT 1994, and 
was prepared to notify thes e firms as State trading enterprises wi thin the meaning of Article XVII upon 
accession. 
133. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that  his Government would apply its laws and 
regulations governing the trading ac tivities of State-owned enterprises and other enterprises with special 
or exclusive privileges and would otherwise act in  full conformity with the provisions of the WTO 
Agreement, in particular Articl e XVII of the GATT 1994 and the Un derstanding on that Article and  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 45 
 
 
Article VIII of the GATS, and Article III and XI of  the GATT 1994.  The Working Party took note of 
this commitment. 
Free Zones, Special Economic Areas  
134. The representative of Lithuania said that a La w on Free Economic Zones had been adopted in 
June 1995.  Each zone would be esta blished by separate la w.  Certain activities would be prohibited in 
free zones, including production, storage and sale of weapons, ammunition, explosives, dangerous and 
radioactive materials, narcotics a nd poisonous substances;  manufacture of spirits, secu rities, money and 
postage stamps;  radio an d television broadcasting;  hospitals;  gambling houses;  and organization of 
lotteries.  Licences would be required to carry out  activities subject to authorization (see "Trading 
Rights") within Lithuania.  Enterprises operating in  a free zone would be exempt from customs duties, 
excise taxes and VAT, but would be subject to profit tax, payroll taxe s (including social insurance), tax 
on land rent, stamp tax,  taxes on natural resources and po llution tax (amendment of Law on Free 
Economic Zones of 2 April 1996).  An enterprise established in the zone would benefit from an 
80 per cent profit (income) tax reduction from the day of its registration for the first five years and a 
50 per cent profit (income) ta x reduction for the subsequent five years.   If a foreign investor acquired at 
least 30 per cent of the authorized (ownership) capita l of an enterprise regist ered and operating in the 
zone, and invested not less than US$1 million of ca pital of foreign origin, the enterprise would be 
exempt from profit (income) tax for 5 years from the day of its registration.  The enterprise would 
benefit from a 50 per cent profit (income) ta x reduction for the subsequent 10 years. 
135. Thus far, Parliament had adopted  separate laws for the establ ishment of free economic zones 
in three cities - Siauliai, Klaipeda and Kaunas.  In this connection, the Government had organized 
tenders to select the company or group of companie s to govern the zone, and a subsequent tender to 
determine the companies operating in the zone.  Bo th foreign and domestic co mpanies could participate 
in these tenders, provided they pr epared an entrepreneurship projec t, including estimates of proposed 
investment in the infrastructure of the zone.  International tender s had already taken place for the 
preparation of business plans, stat ute of the zones and choice of establishing groups for the Kaunas, 
Siauliai and Klaipeda free economic zones.  The Kaunas, Siauliai and Klaipeda free economic zones were expected to start operating in  the course of 2000.  Companies operating in the zone would need to 
register as enterpri ses in accordance with Lithuanian legi slation and the registration should be duly 
recorded by the governing company of the zone.  Comp anies were not required to export part or all of 
their output to gain access to Lithuanian free zone s.  The purpose of the free economic zones was to 
attract investment, not to introduce requirements to export.  Goods br ought into the customs territory of 
Lithuania from a free economic zone would be subj ect to all laws and other legal acts regulating the WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 46  
 
importation of goods from abroad, notably the applica tion of import duties and taxes, as well as any 
prohibitions or restrictions of economic character. 
136. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that any free zones or free economic zones would 
be fully subject to the coverage of the commitments taken in the Pr otocol of Accession, and that 
Lithuania would ensure enforcement of its WTO obligations in those zones, including those 
commitments derived from the TRIPS Agreement.  He also confirmed that , when goods produced or 
imported into the zones under the special tax and tariff  regime existing in these areas enter into the rest 
of Lithuania, normal customs forma lities, tariffs and taxes would be applied.  The Working Party took 
note of this commitment. 
Government Procurement
 
137. The representative of Lithuania said that a new Law on Public (Government) Procurement, 
consistent with WTO requi rements, had been adopted on 3 June 19 99.  The Law had entered into force 
on 1 October 1999, and replaced the previous Law of 13 August 1996.  The new Law aimed at ensuring 
open and transparent public procuremen t procedures, equality of particip ation for suppliers (domestic or 
foreign), effective competition, and more effective use of State funds.  Article 1.6 of The Law allowed 
the Government to give preference  to goods, services and works (i n connection with construction and 
renovation) produced, effected or pr ovided by enterprises, includi ng foreign-owned, registered in 
Lithuania, when this supply was important to the State for economic or social reasons.  However, such a decision would be passed in compliance with Lith uania's obligations under in ternational agreements.  
The Government Procurement Agency had been es tablished in June 1997.  The Agency prepared 
regulations related to the implem entation of the Law on Public Procurement;  announced tenders;  
coordinated Ministries' activities re lated to procurement;  i nvestigated complaints by suppliers;  etc.  The 
Government of Lithuania had been granted obse rver status in the Committee on Government 
Procurement in June 1998. 
138. The representative of Lithuania confirmed th at Lithuania would initiate negotiations for 
membership in the Agreement on Government Procurement by tabling an entity offer within three months after the accession date, at the latest.  He al so confirmed that if the results of the negotiations 
were satisfactory to Lithuania a nd other members of the Agreement, negotiations would be completed in 
the course of 2002.  The Working Pa rty took note of these commitments. 
Transit
 
139. The representative of Lithuania said that Lithua nia required submission of a security or cash 
deposit which would normally be equal to the sum of  import duties and taxes levied on imports.  The  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 47 
 
 
amount considered sufficient could be  set at a higher level if the cust oms value or tariff classification of 
the goods in transit could not be  determined with certainty. 
140. The representative of Lithuania added that the Prime Ministers of the Baltic States had signed 
a Resolution "On Via Baltica" on 13 February 1995, se eking to create a Balti c Transit System which 
would facilitate and simplify transit formalities for cargo traffic between the Baltic States.  The system 
would be based on, and could pave the way for, future accession to the EC-EFTA SAD and Common 
Transit Conventions (1987).  An Agreement on the Common Transit Procedure of the Baltic States had 
been signed on 10 July 1998, and had entered into force upon ratification of Pa rliaments of the three 
Baltic States on 1 June 1999. 
141. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania would conform to the relevant WTO 
provisions, including Article V of the GATT 1994.  Th e Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Agricultural Policies  
142. [Members of the Working Party asked Lithuania to outline the main direction of its 
agricultural policies.  Specific questions were ra ised with respect to customs duties on agricultural 
products, the enforcement of recommended purchase prices on some commodities , direct and indirect 
support measures, export s ubsidies, and measures in the sugar sector.  Lithuania was requested to 
provide information on domestic suppo rt and export subsidies in agriculture in the format of document 
WT/ACC/4.  A member noted that Lithuania's do mestic support and export subsidy programmes were 
of recent date and wondered why Lithuania had implemented programme s which could be in contrast 
with WTO provisions after decidi ng to join the organization. 
143. The representative of Lithuani a noted that domestic support and export subsidy programmes 
had been in place since 1995.  He did not consider such programmes incompatible with the provisions of 
the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.  He added that agriculture was of exceptional economic and social significance to Lithuania.  About  one third of Lithuania's populati on resided in rural areas and the 
production of primary agricultural co mmodities provided work for 21.7 per cent of the total employed 
workforce in Lithuania.  Milk production was one of the most important economic activities in 
Lithuania.  However, agricultural production was ha mpered by small-scale, inefficient farming and 
marketing infrastructure.  Domestic prices for mo st agricultural commodities were below the world 
market level, but prices for final products could so metimes be equal to, or higher than, world market 
prices.  The Government aimed at creating a competitive agricultural sector and a viable rural economy while minimizing the negative social and economic c onsequences during the period of transition.  The 
average weighted MFN tariff on major food products (milk, dairy products, butte r, eggs, sausages and 
sugar) was 39.5 per cent. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 48  
 
144. Some members were particularly concerned about  subsidies granted in the form of purchases 
of agricultural production at "reco mmended" prices.  The representative of Lit huania explained that 
farmers were supporte d through the mechanism of minimum (recommended) purc hase prices for wheat, 
flax, rapeseed, protein feed crops and milk.  The product coverage of the minimum price programme 
could be expanded in extreme situ ations. Prices were determined by average production costs in 
Lithuania and the market situation in neighbouring countries.  A subsidy element was added to the 
minimum prices within fixed purchasing quotas for fl ax, rapeseed and protein feed crops.  Subsidies 
were channelled to farmers through the processors to reduce paperwork.  Subsidies were granted 
through the Rural Support Fund.  Types of assistance also  included soft credits and preferential loans (at 
5 per cent annual interest) for farmers, support to tr ade intermediaries and serv ices providers, rebates on 
agricultural machinery, suppor t for cooperative efforts among farmers, ecologic farming and 
compensation for accidents and calamities.  The Stat e also offered indirect support by financing land 
reclamation works, liming of soil, construction of roads and other infrastruc ture, animal breeding and 
agricultural research and training.  Tax concessions to the sector co nsisted of exemption from corporate 
profit tax and tax holidays on reclai med land.  The Government also en couraged diversification in rural 
areas and afforestation. 
145. Automatic import licensing had been introduced on 1 November 1998 for the main 
agricultural products.  The principal purpose of the licensing system wa s to monitor imports of sensitive 
products to allow improved predictio n of import trends.  In his view, the licensing procedures were not 
administered in a manner  restricting imports, and corresponded to the requirements of Article 2 of 
Agreement on Import Licensing Proced ures.  Import licenses were issu ed immediately upon receipt of a 
completed application - including copies of the certif icate of registration, the importer's certificate and 
the contract with the foreign commercial entity - or within a maximum of 10 days. 
146. In 1997, the Government had decided to chan nel all fiscal resources for the National 
Agricultural Development Program me and the Agriculture Support Fund into a Rural Support Fund to 
improve the efficiency and administration of State s upport to the agricultural sector.  The Ministry of 
Agriculture  had established the Rural Support Fund.  The main purpose of the Fund was to create viable 
farms which would guarantee employment and inco me for farmers.  The Rural Support Fund would 
facilitate a gradual move from price subsidies to ma intaining producer income through the application of 
price support and other economic measures on the main  agricultural products.  The Fund would also 
finance investment programmes.  Some of the programmes financed from the fund were:  the 
establishment of farmer and cooperative societies;   agro-services;  new technologies;  livestock 
breeding;  ecological (environmentally-friendly) farming;  structural adjustment of marginally 
productive land;  and the development of quality systems for agricultural products.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 49 
 
 
147. A member noted that Lithuania subsidized cert ain agricultural exports and requested Lithuania 
to bind its export subsidies at zero and use other, less distortive, forms of agricultural support.  The 
representative of Lithuania explai ned that export subsidies were provided for storage of surplus 
production and improvement of marketing conditions.  In 1995, export subsidies had been provided for 
beef, pork, pigs, butter, ch eese, grain, flour, condensed milk a nd milk powder at a budget cost of US$9.8 
million.  Lithuania had subsidized  exports of beef, butter, condense d milk, milk powder, cheese, pork, 
grain and flour at a budget cost of US$8 million in 1996;  beef, butter, condensed milk, milk powder, 
cheese, pork, grain, vegetable oil, meat preserves and flour at a budget cost of US$14.8 million in 1997;  
beef, butter, condensed milk, milk powder, cheese, casein and other milk prot ein products, vegetable oil 
and preserved meat at a budget cost of US$12 million in 1998;  and beef, butter,  condensed milk, milk 
powder, cheese, casein and other milk protein pr oducts, and vegetable oil at a budget cost of 
US$14 million in 1999.  The representative of Lit huania confirmed that Li thuania would not use 
agricultural export subsidies after the date of access ion, and that this commitment had been recorded in 
its goods market access schedule. 
148. The representative of Lithuania stressed that, as with the economy as a whole, Lithuania's food 
and agriculture sector was facing difficult adjustme nt to new market-oriente d conditions.  Agriculture 
was still in the process of recovery, and productivity  in the sector, including the food industry, had not 
reached its potential level due to inflation, distortions in producti on and prices, and a disruption in 
relations - and resulting competition wi th Lithuania's main trading partners - in the former Soviet Union.  
Growth and development within the sector was restra ined by insecurity concerning farm and land user 
rights, poor infrastructure, and lack of proper di stribution of inputs and output.  In addition to 
fragmented farms and insufficient competition, farmers' incomes were squeezed by a negative trade balance and lack of access to credit.  Land reform, in  particular the process of  restitution, privatization 
and the development of clear-cut ownership rights had not proceeded as quickly as hoped.  Lithuania 
was revising its agricultural policies and had developed a new system fo r domestic support to agriculture 
(outlined in paragraphs [144 to 147]). 
149. Some members asked specific questions regardi ng measures affecting the sugar sector, notably 
the possible introduction of minimum import prices a nd the opening of tariff-r ate quotas for domestic 
processors.  Lithuania was reminded that Arti cle VII of the GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on 
Agriculture prohibited the use of reference prices. 
150. The representative of Lithuania said that raw sugar (HS code 1701.11-1701.12) was protected 
by tariffs of 35 per cent ad valorem  (minimum Litas 1.36 per kg);  sugar (HS code 1701.91.00.0) by a 
tariff of 87 per cent (minimum Li tas 1.76 per kg);  sugar (HS code 1701.99) by tariffs of 87 per cent 
(minimum Litas 1.68 per kg);  other sugar produ cts (HS codes 1702.30, 1702.40, 1702.90) by tariffs of WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 50  
 
87 per cent, and confectionery made  of sugar  by tariffs of 25 per cent (HS code 1704.10.11) and 
40 per cent (1704.90.51, 1704.90.61-1704.90.99).  Proces sors were provided seasonal soft credits for 
purchases of sugar beet.  Excise taxes on sugar and produc ts containing more than 20 per cent sugar had 
been introduced on 1 November 1998;  the tax reve nue was earmarked for s ugar beet farmers to 
compensate for reductions in domestic purchase prices.  Imports of sugar could also take place under tariff-rate quotas, with no prior need  to exhaust reserves of domestic sugar.  A previous requirement to 
this effect had been abolished in accordance with the Amendment to the Law on Sugar of 8 July 1999.  
The Amendment had also eliminated the exemption fo r sugar producers from provisions of the Law on 
Competition, and the minimum import pri ces on raw sugar (effective 1 April 2000). 
151. Information on Lithuania's domestic support and e xport subsidies in agriculture in place in the 
period 1995-1997 was presented by Lithuania in doc ument WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/7/Rev.2 in the format 
provided by document WT/ACC/4.  Some members noted  that calculations of Lithuania's Base Total 
AMS also include domestic support that is equal to or below the de minimis level.  Further, some 
members noted that Lithuania would therefore be required to  calculate its Current Total AMS, as set out 
in Article 1(h)(ii), in accordanc e with the Agreement on Agriculture and the methodology used in the 
tables of supporting materials. 
152. Lithuania's commitments on agricultural tariffs,  on domestic support a nd export subsidies for 
agricultural products are in the Schedule of Co ncessions and Commitments on Goods annexed to 
Lithuania's Protocol of Accession to the WTO.] 
Trade in Civil Aircraft
 
153. The representative of Lithuania said that L ithuania had implemented the Agreement on Trade 
in Civil Aircraft without exceptions from 10 January 2000. 
154. The representative of Lithuania confirmed that Lithuania woul d become a signatory to the 
Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft upon accession to the WTO.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment. 
Trade-Related Intellectual Property Regime  
155. Some members of the Working Party asked Lithua nia to describe its system of protection of 
intellectual property in the light of the WTO Ag reement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights (TRIPS) and indicate  areas which would be subject to new or revised legislation.  A 
member noted that Lithuania's intellectual property rights regime was still being developed and that the current regime did not meet all th e requirements of the WTO, and reque sted Lithuania to accelerate its  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 51 
 
 
legislative process in order to ensure full implem entation of the TRIPS Agreement at the time of 
accession to the WTO. 
156. Lithuania provided a note on TRIPS to the Working Party in document WT/ACC/LTU/7 
(Annex I), a note on progress in implem enting the TRIPS Agreement in document 
WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/10, and a checklist on implem entation of the TRIPS Agreement in document 
WT/ACC/LTU/42.  The status of Lithuanian legi slation and the corresponding WTO requirements, and 
steps taken to address obligations under the TRIPS Ag reement are presented in Table 12.  In response to 
specific questions, the representati ve of Lithuania said that nation al legislation  - including laws on 
copyright and related rights, patent s, industrial design, trademarks and service marks, layout-designs 
(topographies) of integrated circui ts, the Law on Competition, the Cr iminal Code and the Code of 
Criminal Procedure - corresponded to the basic provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.  Lithuania's 
legislation on intellectual prope rty contained no exceptions to the principle of national or MFN 
treatment.  Lithuania did not use the possibilities provided in Arti cle 6 of the Berne Convention and 
maintained no exceptional measures as provided fo r under Article 4(d) of the TRIPS Agreement. 
157. Lithuania had joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1992 and the 
Paris Convention in 1994.  On 17 September 1996, the Se imas (Parliament of Lit huania) had ratified the 
Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of Registration of Marks of 15 June 1957, which had en tered into force in Lithuania on 22 February 1997, 
and on 29 April 1997 the Seimas had ratified the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement 
Concerning the International Registration of Marks,  entering into force on 15 November 1997.  In 
November 1997, the Seimas had rati fied the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT), which had entered into force 
on 27 April 1998, and the Budapest Treaty on the In ternational Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-
organisms for the Purposes of th e Patent Procedure (1997, modified  in 1980), which had entered into 
force on 9 May 1998.  In the area of copyright and related rights, Lithuania had acceded to the Berne 
Convention for the Protection of L iterary and Artistic Works (Paris Act, 1971) in 1994 and had ratified 
the Convention in 1996.  Lithuania had ratified the Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, 
Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations  at the end of 1998 (which had entered into 
force on 22 July 1999), and the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms 
against Unauthorized Duplication of their Programs in 1999 (the Gene va Convention had entered into 
force on 27 January 2000).  Lithuania had also conc luded international agreements on intellectual 
property with Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Un ited Stated and the European Patent Organization. 
158. Parliament had adopted a Law on Copyright and Related Rights on 18 May 1999.  The Law 
corresponded to the regulations of international conventions on copyright and neighbouring rights and 
the requirements of the TRIPS Agre ement, and included a system of  collective administration  and WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 52  
 
protection of copyright an d related rights.  The Association of Performers and Producers of Phonograms 
had been established;  authors, artists and creators had founded th e Lithuanian Copyright Protection 
Association (LATGAA) which was concluding agreements with si milar organizations in other 
countries.  Broadcasting organiza tions maintained copyright on radio and television programmes 
according to Article 47 of the Law.  The Law provided rental rights for cinematographic works, computer programmes and sound recordings.  In his view, the protection of the rights of performers, 
phonogram producers and broadcasting organizations corresponded fully to the requirements of 
Article 14 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
159. Minor amendments to the Law on Trademarks, to adjust to requirements of the TRIPS 
Agreement, would be enacted in the course of 2000.   Amendments to the Law on Industrial Design had 
already been adopted (in 2000).  Lithuania considered the exceptions in its law to the rights conferred by 
a trademark to be in compliance with Article 17 of  the TRIPS Agreement.  Geographical indications 
were in part protected under the new Law on Compet ition.  The provisions complied, in his view, with 
the requirements of Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
160. The representative of Lithuania said that the Patent Law amendments, which incorporated the 
provisions of the TRIPS Agreement and the Paris Convention regarding compulsory licensing of 
patented inventions, had been intr oduced on 15 June 2000.  Disputes regarding working or non-working 
of a patent could be settled in C ourt.  Generally, importation of a pa tented product should be considered 
equivalent to the use of a patent. 
161. The representative of Lithuania said that the Ministries and institutions involved in the 
development of intellectual propert y rights legislation were accelera ting their work.  On 16 June 1998, 
Parliament had adopted a Law on the Legal Protection of Topographi es of Semiconductor Products, 
conforming with Articles 35 to 38 of the TRIPS Agreement.  Th e Law had entered into force on 
1 December 1998.  The Law on Legal Protection of Computer Programs  and Data Bases (subsequently 
incorporated in the Law on Copyright and Related Rights) and the Law on Plant Variety Protection and 
Seed Growing had been adopted in 1996.  The latter  Law assured the protecti on of all plant varieties 
registered in Lithuania and guarant eed the rights of variety owners.  Lithuania was not yet a member of 
the International Plant Variety Protection Organiza tion (UPOV), but would join following the adoption 
of appropriate amendments to the Law on Plant Variety Protection and Seed Growing. 
162. Intellectual property rights were enforced by  civil action, unless the infringement was 
considered a criminal violation.  Procedures were laid down in the Civil Code and the Code of Civil 
Process of the Republic of Lithuania.  The Laws on Trademarks, Patents, Topographies of 
Semiconductor Products, and Industria l Design contained specific provi sions regarding owners' rights to  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 53 
 
 
stop infringements and claims for compensation;  reme dies against violations of copyright and related 
rights were provided under the Civil Code, the Crim inal Code and the Code of Administrative Law 
Infringements.  A Law on Amendment and Supplement to the Code of Administrative Infringements 
had been passed in February 1998.  The special Am endments and Supplements to the Criminal Code 
and the Code of Criminal Procedur e had also been adopted.  They ensured implementa tion and effective 
enforcement of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights and the other intellectual property laws.  
Lithuania had improved its system of administrative, ci vil and criminal remedies for infringements of all 
types of intellectual property.  The Law on Copyright  and Related Rights includ ed a separate Article on 
provisional measures.  Border enforcement of copyr ight and other intellectual property would be 
strengthened under a new Law on the Protection of In tellectual Property for Imported and Exported 
Goods, to be introduced in 2000.  A special unit resp onsible for the protection of intellectual property 
rights had been established in the Department of Tax Police (Order  No. 238 of 6 June 1998 of the 
Ministry of Interior Affairs). 
163. The representative of Lithuani a confirmed that his Govern ment would fully apply the 
provisions of the Agreement on Trad e-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) by the 
date of its accession to the WTO without recourse to a transitional period.  The Working Party took note 
of this commitment. 
Policies Affecting Trade in Services  
164. The representative of Lithuania submitted to the Working Party a separate Memorandum on 
the services regime (WT/ACC/LTU/5), an additional presentation (WT/ACC/LTU/9) and  
supplementary information in document WT/ACC/L TU/10.  The documentation outlined the market 
structure, regulatory framework and policies affectin g services generally or in relation to specific 
sectors.  Concerning the development of services-r elated legislati on, he added that Lithuania had 
adopted several new laws or amendments, notably the Law on Insurance, Law on Telecommunications, 
Law on Public Trading of Securiti es, amendments and supplements to the Law on Commercial Banks, 
Law on Construction, Law on Mass Media, the Civ il Aviation Code, Inland Transport Code, Road 
Transport Code, Railway Transport Code, the Law on  Tourism, the Law on Pension Funds, the Law on 
Audit, and the amendment and supplement to th e Law on Enterprises (provisions concerning the 
establishment of branches). 
165. The representative of Lithuania said that requireme nts for the registration of  an enterprise were 
the same irrespective of the nati onality of ownership, except that a foreign investor would need to 
submit certificates of incorporation in the home country for legal persons, documentation on the financial condition/status, and verifica tion of the origin of the foreign capital.  Foreign investment was WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 54  
 
permitted in all sectors with the exception of areas related to defe nce and national security and the 
organization of lotteries.  The State Post Office was the only service supplier with monopoly or 
exclusive rights;  its rights concerned collection a nd delivery of letters, postcar ds and printed matter;  
installation of letter coll ection boxes;  and issuance of postage st amps.  The State Po st Office did not 
have exclusive rights on courier services.  The former  State enterprise "Lietuvos Telekomas" had been 
privatized, but would hold exclusive rights to provi de telecommunication servic es until 1 January  2003. 
166. The representative of Lithuania provided informat ion on licensing of business activities in the 
area of services in Table 3.2.  In addition, th e establishment of a commercial bank required a licence 
issued by the Bank of Lithuania. 
167. Lithuania did not maintain any specific measur es of horizontal natu re which would limit 
market access or national treatment in the financ ial services sector.  Permission from the Bank of 
Lithuania was required for foreign banks to estab lish bank branches and representative offices.  
According to the Law on Commercial Banks of 21  December 1994, foreign banks could establish 
subsidiaries;  acquire shares of a ne w or operating bank (acquisition of a block of shares (10 per cent or 
more) in an operating bank required the consent of the Bank of Lithuania);  a nd establish branches and 
representative offices.  An individual acquiring 10 pe r cent or more of the shares in a bank without 
permission from the Bank of Lit huania would not be entitled to vote at the shareholders' general 
meeting.  Minimum capital requireme nts were the same for domestic and foreign banks;  the minimum 
from 1 January 1998 had been set at ECU 5 million (i n Litas equivalent).  Lithuania intended to 
approximate its banking laws  with European Communities' direc tives which could lead to further 
liberalization.  Foreign securities  firms could conduct business through any legal form of enterprise in 
Lithuania. 
168. Insurance services were provided by 32 companies,  of which 4 included foreign participation.  
The State Insurance Company had held exclusive righ ts to issue all types of mandatory insurance and 
pensions insurance;  the company had been privat ized under a new Law on Insurance.  The new Law  
would codify the situation under which all exclusiv e rights for the State Insurance Company had been 
eliminated.  The Law enabled foreign insurance co mpanies to established wholly-owned companies, 
joint-ventures or subsidiaries provided the fore ign insurance company had permission from its own 
Government to conduct insurance activities in foreig n countries.  Foreign financial institutions were 
permitted to deliver transportation insurance (maritime and aviation) an d reinsurance services across the 
border.  Insurance inter-mediation on behalf of foreign insurance companies was allowed for 
intermediaries registered in Lithuania.  The re presentative of Lithuania indicated that an MFN 
exemption for insurance services, providing reciprocity treatment for commercial presence, had been 
deleted from Lithuania's list of MFN exemptions as a result of an amendment to the Law on Insurance.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 55 
 
 
169. Concerning the supply of professional services by  foreigners, the Lithuanian Labour Exchange 
issued work permits and would evaluate and fully recognize the qualifications of applicants in 
accordance with the documentation submitted.  Lithuania had no agreements  with other countries 
regarding the recognition of qualifications.  Qualific ation requirements for aud itors in the country of 
origin of the auditors or auditing companies should not be lower than in Lithuani a.  Legal services were 
regulated by the Ministry of Justi ce and could be provided by advocat es and lawyers licensed to engage 
in such activities. Foreign lawyers could provide se rvices on international law and home-country law.  
However, foreigners could not act as  defenders in criminal proceedings;  such services were reserved for 
advocates who were citi zens of Lithuania and included in a list  of attorneys.  Foreign attorneys could 
represent clients before the Courts in Lithuania only if provided under bilate ral agreements on legal 
assistance.  Agreements we re in force with Belarus,  Estonia, Kazakstan, La tvia, Moldova, Poland, the 
Russian Federation, [Turkey], Ukraine, United Stat es and Uzbekistan.  The limitations on citizenship, 
which were applicable to advocates (representing clients before the Cour ts), were not applied to lawyers 
wishing to engage in other lawyers' practices.   
170. The Law on Legal Status of  Aliens had been approve d on 17 December 1998.  The 
Government established an annual quota on the number  of foreign employees in accordance with the 
Regulation on Temporary Employment of Foreigners  of 13 February 1995.  Employers applied to the 
Lithuanian Labour Exchange which would issue spec ial visas and work permit s for foreigners. This 
regulation was not applied to intra-corporate transferees (managers, executives and specialists) working 
1 to 2 years with a possibility of extension, or to business visitors working no longer than 3 months, for 
purposes related to the negotiation of contracts, tr aining of staff, installi ng equipment and similar 
activities. 
171. Regarding  procurement of services by governme nt agencies, the representative of Lithuania 
said that the new Law on Public (Government) Procurement, which had entered into force on 
1 October 1999, included no provisions on preferences for local suppliers. 
172. The representative of Lithuania said that hi s Government was working with responsible 
Ministries, organizations a nd Parliament to ensure th at WTO requirements were reflected in new laws 
and regulations.  Lithuania had notified the establishm ent of an enquiry point for services within the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in document WT/ACC/ LTU/29.  Lithuania's services regime did not 
discriminate among services or se rvice supplier countries (Article II) except as provided in economic 
integration agreements meeting the standards of Ar ticle V of the GATS.  Th e Government provided full 
information on laws and regulations in the Offici al Gazette as required und er Article III, and was 
drafting qualification require ments, technical standards and licensing requirements in accordance with 
the requirements of Article VI. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 56  
 
173. Lithuania's Schedule of Specific  Commitments on Services is anne xed to its draft Protocol of 
Accession reproduced in the Appendix to this Report (see paragraph [186] below).  This Schedule of 
Specific Commitments on Services contains th e legally binding market-access commitments of 
Lithuania in respect of services. 
Transparency
 
Publication of information on trade  
174. The representative of Lithuania said that accord ing to Lithuanian procedures legal acts could 
not be enforced until they had been published in the O fficial Gazette.  According to the Law on Order of 
Publishing and Entry into Force of Legal Acts of 6 Ap ril 1993, legal acts entered into force the day after 
their publication in the Official Gazette, or on a later da te stipulated in the legal act. 
175. The representative of Lithuania stated that all laws, regulations, rulings, decrees and other 
normative acts related to trade were  to be promptly published in the Official Gazette, and that no law, 
rule, etc. related to international trade would become  effective prior to such publication.  He further 
stated that Lithuania would impl ement fully Article X of the GATT 1994, Article III of the GATS, and 
the other transparency requirements in WTO Ag reements requiring notific ation and publication. 
Notifications  
176. The representative of Lithuania sa id that at the latest upon entry into force of the Protocol of 
Accession, Lithuania would submit all notifications (oth er than those required to  be made on an initial 
basis) required by any Agreement constituting pa rt of the WTO Agreement.  Any regulations 
subsequently enacted by Lithuania which gave effect to the laws enacted to implement any Agreement 
constituting part of the WTO Agreement would also c onform to the requirements of that Agreement.  
The Working Party took note of this commitment. 
Trade Agreements  
177. Some members of the Working Party asked Lit huania to provide information on bilateral or 
regional agreements affecting tr ade and investment.  Some member s wondered whether the free trade 
agreements covered substantially all trade.  Lithuani a was asked to notify its free trade agreements.  A 
member requested a copy of the Trilateral Ag reement on Agricultural Trade between the Baltic 
countries, including the specific ma rket access provisions for the re moval of barriers among the three 
countries.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 57 
 
 
178. The representative of Lithuania said that Li thuania had negotiated Fr ee Trade Agreements 
(FTA's) with the European Communities, the Europe an Free Trade Association (EFTA), Estonia and 
Latvia (a trilateral agreement), Ukraine, Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and 
Hungary.  Lithuania intended to conclude free tr ade agreements with all CEFTA countries.  A Free 
Trade Agreement between Lithuania, Estonia and Latv ia, covering industrial pro ducts, had entered into 
force on 1 April 1994 and a second part of the Agreem ent, on agricultural products, on 1 January 1997.  
Together, the two parts of the FTA provided for free trade (no interi m measures) at zero tariffs among 
the Baltic States. 
179. Trade agreements providing fo r MFN treatment (conventional duties) had been concluded 
with Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, C uba, Georgia, Hungary, India,  the Republic of Korea, 
[the Philippines], Romania, the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Vietnam.  Conventional 
MFN duties were also applied on imports from Canada , Japan, Kazakstan, Mold ova, Tadjikistan and the 
United States.  Goods originating in other countries were  subject to autonomous customs duties.  
Agreements on investment promotion and protection had been concluded with Argentina, Austria, 
China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fi nland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, 
Kazakstan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, 
Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela [and Vietnam].  Lithuania had also 
concluded an agreement with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. 
180. The representative of Lithuania said that the free trade agreements covered substantially all 
trade.  Under the Lithuania/European Communities Agreement, tariffs would nevertheless remain on 
some agriculture and fishery products after the six-ye ar transitional period to implement the agreement.  
This FTA had already been notified by the Europ ean Communities under Article XXIV.  Preferential 
treatment was granted in the form of tariff-rate quotas for some prod ucts;  quota amounts were listed in 
Annex XIII, and the respective in-quo ta tariff rates in Annex XII, of the Free Trade Agreement.  Tariff 
quotas in the context of preferential trade were only applied towards the European Communities; the 
relevant implementing regulation (Government Resolution No. 205 of  8 February 1995 and No. 515 of 
26 May 1997) had been provided to the Working Party.   The tariff-rate quotas concerned tariff positions 
HS 0201, 0202, 0203, 0406 and 1601. 
181. The Free Trade Agreements with the European Communities and EFTA States were 
asymmetric, but only for industrial pr oducts.  The two agreements were similar in content, except that 
the agreement with EFTA States contained a smaller number of products subject to a transitional period and provided a specific date for the abolition of import duties on textile products.  The FTA with EFTA States included agricultural products, but the trade regime was based on reciproc al concessions from the 
MFN level.  The FTA with EFTA St ates had already been notified by EFTA under Article XXIV.  The WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 58  
 
FTA with Ukraine stipulated MFN tr eatment for the majority of agri cultural products, for the remaining 
items the tariff was zero.  The Agreement included Annexes on rule s of origin and administrative 
cooperation which had been signed in February 1994.   New rules of origin were in preparation and 
would be similar to those established in the FTA's with the European Communities, EFTA States and 
CEFTA countries.  The Parties of the Agreement comm itted to ensure free transit of goods through their 
customs territory.  He stated that the Agreement with  Ukraine was in conformity with the provisions of 
GATT 1994.  Some members requested L ithuania to supply the full text of  its Agreement with Ukraine.  
The representative of Lithuania repl ied that no English version of the Agreement existed, and therefore 
provided a summary of the Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine to the Working Party.  He added that all 
FTA's (except those with Ukraine and Hungary) had b een notified to the WTO Secretariat, and the FTA 
with Ukraine would be  notified upon accession. 
182. A member noted that Lithuania applied export ta xes which were differen tiated according to 
the market of destination and wondered whether Lit huania intended to maintain this practice.  The 
representative of Lithuania replied that Lithuania maintained some e xport duties on a bilateral basis in 
connection with the Free Trade Ag reements with the European Commu nities;  the Czech Republic;  
Slovakia;  Slovenia;  a Trilateral Free Trade Agreement between Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia;  Turkey;  
and Hungary (Table 9.2).  The Free Trade Agreement with Poland also allowed the possible use of export duties.  Exports of the affe cted products had been prohibited at  the time of conclusion of these 
Free Trade Agreements and the introduction of export  duties in bilateral trade had thus been a step 
towards liberalization of trade.  He added th at, effective 10 January 2000 (in accordance with 
Government Resolution No. 2 of 4 January 2000), e xport duties had been eliminated on all products 
except raw hides and skins, for which the bilateral du ties had been reduced to the new general rate of 
15 per cent.  The preferential duties were thus now eq ual to the non-preferential rates.  [He stressed that 
all export duties applied on the basi s of bilateral agreement would be  eliminated by 1 January 2001.] 
183. Preferential rules of origin were in place in the context of all free trade agreements.  The origin 
of goods was determined in accordance with list of  rules applied for all products.  Certificates of 
preferential origin were issued by the Customs authorities according to Government Resolution No. 
1077 of 1 October 1997 "On the Order of Determination of the Origin of Goods and on Certificates of 
Origin (General Form)".  Simplified procedures had been established in the appropriate Protocols on the 
Rules of Origin in the Free Trade Agreements co ncluded by Lithuania, and were used when invoice 
declarations (i.e. declarations of  preferential origin given by the exporter on an invoice, a delivery note 
or any other commercial document describing the produc ts concerned in sufficient detail to enable their 
identification) had been ma de by approved exporters.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 59 
 
 
184. The representative of Lithuania stated that hi s Government would observe the provisions of 
the WTO including Arti cle XXIV of the GATT 1994 a nd Article V of the GATS in its trade agreements, 
and would ensure that the provisions of the WTO Ag reements for notification,  consultation and other 
requirements concerning pref erential trading systems, free trade areas and customs unions of which 
Lithuania is a member are met from the date of accession.  The Working Party took note of this 
commitment. 
Conclusions  
185. The Working Party took note of the explanations  and statements of L ithuania concerning its 
foreign trade regime, as reflecte d in this Report.  The Working Party took note of the commitments 
given by Lithuania in relation to cer tain specific matters which are re produced in paragraphs 19, 22, 29, 
42, [45], 55, 56, 59, 66, 70, 78, 79, [85], 90, 96, 101, 103, 111, 120, 122, 133, 136, 138, 141, 154, 163, 
176 and 184 of this Report.  The Wo rking Party took note that these assurances and commitments had 
been incorporated in paragra ph 2 of the Protocol of Accession of Lithuania to the WTO. 
186. Having carried out the examination of the foreign trade regime of Lithuania and in the light of 
the explanations, commitments and concessions made by the represen tative of Lithuania, the Working 
Party reached the conclusion that Lithuania be invited to accede to the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the WTO under the provisions of Articl e XII.  For this purpose, the Working Party has 
prepared the draft Decision and Protocol of Access ion reproduced in the Appendix to this Report, and 
takes note of Lithuania's Schedule of Specific Commitments on Services (document 
WT/ACC/LTU/.......) and its Sche dule of Concessions and Co mmitments on Goods (document 
WT/ACC/LTU/..........) that ar e annexed to the Protocol.  It is propos ed that these texts be adopted by the 
General Council when it adopts the Report.  When the Decision is adopted, the Protocol of Accession 
would be open for acceptance by Lithuania which woul d become a Member thirty days after it accepts 
the said Protocol.  The Working Party agreed, therefore, that it had completed its work concerning the 
negotiations for the accession of Lithuania to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. 
[to be completed] 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 60  
 
 
ANNEX 1 
 
Laws, Regulations and Other Information Pr ovided to the Working Party by Lithuania
 
 - Memorandum of Economic Policies of the Govern ment of the Republic of Lithuania for the 
period 1 October 1994 a nd 30 September 1997; 
- Law on Taxes on Profits of Legal Persons of 31 July 1990, No. I-442; 
- Law on Taxes on State Natural Resour ces of 21 March 1991, No. I-1163; 
- Law on the Credibility of the Litas of 17 March 1994; - Law on Foreign Currency in the Republic of Lithuania of 7 July 1993, No. I-202; 
- Company Law of 5 July 1994, No. I-528; 
- Law on Enterprises of 8 May 1990, No. I-196; 
- Law No. I-196 of 8 May 1990 On Enterprises; - Law on Small Enterprises of 20 December 1991, No. I-2125; - Cooperative Law of 1 June 1993, No. I-164; - Law on Partnerships of 16 October 1990, No. I-676; - Law on Enterprise Bankruptcy of 15 September 1992, No. I-2880; 
- Law on Investment No. VIII-1312, 7 July 1999; 
- Law on Foreign Investme nt in the Republic of Lithuania of 29 December 1990, No. I-905; 
- Law on Foreign Capital Investment in the Re public of Lithuania No. I-938 of 13 June 1995; 
- Law on Spheres of Business Activity wherein Fo reign Investment is Pr ohibited or Limited of 
2 May 1991, No. I-1276; 
- Law on Privatization of Stat e-Owned and Municipal Property, No. I-1001, 4 July 1995; 
- Law on Prices of 26 July 1990, No. I-413; - Law on Competition of 15 September 1992, No. I-2878; - Law on Competition, 23 March 1999, No. VIII-1099; - Law on Administrative Proceedings No. VIII-1029 of 14 January 1999; - Resolution No. 806 of 24 July 1997 On the Tari ff and Non-Tariff Regul ation of Export and 
Import of Goods and Improveme nt of Establishment of Cust oms Tariffs and Procedure of 
Change; 
- Law on Alcohol Control No. I-857 of 18  April 1995 (as amended by 3 July 1995); 
- Law No. I-857 of 18 April 1995 On Alcohol Control; - Law on Alcohol Control, 18 April 1995 No . I-857 as amended by 10 December 1998, No. 
VIII-961; 
- Government Resolution No. 1459 On Licensi ng Import, Wholesale and Retail Trade in 
Alcoholic Products of  17 November 1995; 
- Government Resolution No. 559 of 5 June 1997 On Licensing the Importation, Wholesale and 
Retail Trade in Alcoholic Products; 
- Law on Tobacco Control No. I-1143 of 20 December 1995;  
- Government Resolution No. 1622 On Licensing th e Production of Tobacco and its Products and 
their Import into the Republic of  Lithuania of 27 December 1995; 
- Government Resolution No. 1221 On Licensi ng Wholesale and Retail Trade in Import and 
Export of Oil Products and Retail Trad e in Liquid Gas of 14 September 1995; 
- The Customs Code of the Republic  of Lithuania of 18 April 1996; 
- Law on Customs Tariffs of 27 April 1993, No. I-138; 
- Law No. VIII-633 of 19 February 1998 on Customs Tariffs; - Schedule of tariffs approved by the Lithuanian Government's Resolution No. 443 
(16 June 1993); 
- Resolution No. 1367 of 30 December 1994 On the Establishment of the Structure of Customs 
Tariffs;  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 61 
 
 
- Government Resolution No. 1114 On the Approv al of Customs Duties of Bound Tariff Rates 
for the Imported Goods of 26 September 1996; 
- Government Resolution No. 1245 of 20 Oct ober 1998 Amending Government Resolution No. 
268 of 24 March 1997 on the Procedure of Expor t and Import Regulation in the Republic of 
Lithuania; 
- Government Resolution No. 641 of 24 May 1999 on Partial Amendments to Resolution 
No. 268 of 24 March 1997 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the Procedure 
for Export and Import Regulation in the Republic of Lithuania; 
- Government Resolution No. 635 On the General Or der of the Administration of Tariff Quotas 
for Implementation and Exporta tion of Goods of 8 May 1995; 
- Law on Stamp Duty No. I-508 of 23 June 1994; 
- Government Resolution No. 774 of 23 June  1998 on the Amendment of Government 
Resolution No. 1123 of 11 November 1994 on the Approval of Stamp Duty Rates and the 
Procedure for Payment and Refund of Stamp Duty; 
- Government Resolution No. 1169 of 29 Se ptember 1998 on the Amendment of Government 
Resolution No. 1123 of 11 November 1994 on the Approval of Stamp Duty Rates and the 
Procedure for Payment and Refund of Stamp Duty; 
- Resolution on Partial Amendments to Reso lution No. 1123 "On the Approval of Stamp Tax 
Tariffs and Procedure of Stamp Tax Paymen t and Refunding" No. 601 of 11 November 1994; 
- Resolution regarding the Amendment of the Reso lution of the Government of the Republic of 
Lithuania of 11 November 1994 No. 1123 "Regarding the Revision of the Rates of Stamp 
Duty as well as the Approval of the Stamp Duty Payment and Refund Procedure"; 
- Information on consular fees levied in ac cordance with the Law of 16 November 1994; 
- Law on Excise Taxes of 12 April 1994, No. I-429; - Law No. I-429 of 12 April 1994 On Excise Duties; - Law on Excise Duties No.I-429 of 12 April 1994, as amended on 23 December 1999 (No. VIII-
1494); 
- New excise duties (January 1995); - Law No. I-429 of 12 April 1994 on Excise Duties (as amended by Law No. VIII-901 of 
20 October 1998); 
- Law on Excise Duties, 12 April 1994, No. I-429 as amended on 21 December 1998, No. VIII-
982; 
- Law on Excise Duties dated 12 April 1994 No .I-429, as amended on 8 July 1999 No. VIII-
1321; 
- Law on Excise Duties, 12 April 1994, No. I-429 as amended on 23 December 1999 No. VIII-
1494; 
- Government Resolution No. 1297 of 4 N ovember 1998 Supplementing the Government 
Resolution No. 302 of 25 April 1994 on Excise Taxes; 
- Resolution of the Government of the Republic  of Lithuania No. 1296 of 4 November 1998 on 
the Procedure for Withholding and Refund of Excise Tax and Approval of the List of Products which Contain Sugar; 
- Resolution of the Government No. 529 On th e Approval Procedure for the Application of 
Excise Tax Relief on Beer Made by th e Small Breweries of 10 May 2000; 
- Law on Value-Added-Tax of 22 December 1993, No. I-345; 
- Law No. I-345 of 22 Decembe r 1993 On Value-Added Tax; 
- Regime of Import/Export Regulati on in the Republic of Lithuania; 
- Government Decision on the Procedure of Co mmodity Export and Import Regulation in the 
Republic of Lithuania of 14 October 1994, No. 985; 
- Government Resolution No. 281 "On Partia l Amendments to Resolution No. 985 "On 
Procedure of Export and Import Regulation in the Republic of Lithuania" adopted by the 
Government of the Republic of Lithuani a on 14 October 1994" of 28 February 1995; 
- Law Concerning Control of Import, Transit an d Export of Strategic Goods and Technologies, 
No. I-1022, 5 July 1995; WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 62  
 
- Government Resolution No. 718 On the Restriction of Import of Certain Things (Goods) to the 
Republic of Lithuania, their E xport and Transit of 19 May 1995; 
- Republic of Lithuania, Minister of Agricu lture, Order No. 240, 9 November 1998, regarding 
the Procedure for Automatic Issuing of Import Permits (Licenses) for Agricultural and Food 
Products; 
- Government Resolution No. 449 On the Approval of the Order of Customs Valuation of Goods 
of 16 June 1993; 
- Government Decree No. 751 On Prices of Im ported Goods Used for their Customs Valuation 
Purpose of 25 June 1996 (unofficial translation);   
- Decree of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No. 751 On Prices of Imported Goods 
Used for their Customs Valuation Purpose; 
- Government Resolution No. 751 On the Customs Assessment of Prices for Imported Goods of 
25 June 1996;  
- Government Resolution No. 504 of 24 April 1998 amending Government Resolution No. 751 
of 25 June 1996 "On the Prices of Import for their Customs Valuation"; 
- Government Resolution No. 748 of 9 June 1999  on the Approval of the Procedure of the 
Customs Valuation of Goods; 
- Government Resolution No. 1077 of 1 October 1977 on the Determination of Origin of Goods 
and on the Certificates of Origin of the General Form; 
- Law No. VIII-807 of 23 June 1998 on Anti-Dumping; - Secondary Legal Acts of the Law on Anti-Dumping; 
- Draft Law on Countervailing Duties dated 1999; 
- Draft Law on Safeguard Measures; - Law on Safeguard Measures of 23 May 2000, No. VIII-1703; - Government Decision on More Stringent Regulatio ns on Purchase and Sale of Waste and Scrap 
of Ferrous Metals of  23 May 1994, No. 388; 
- Government Decision on Order of Purchase in the Republic of Lithuania, Re-melting of Export 
of Copper and other Non-ferrous Metals, thei r Alloys, Scrap and Waste of 29 June 1994, 
No. 526; 
- Resolution on Temporary Economi c Measures to Facilitate the Export of Lithuanian Goods, 
Protect the Internal Market and Strengthe n Lithuania's Position Therein No. 1122 of 
17 September 1998; 
- Law on Standardisation No. VIII-1618 of 11 April 2000; 
- Government Resolution No 617 of 20 May 1999  "On Information Exchange in the Field of 
Standards, Technical Regulations a nd Conformity Assessment Procedures"; 
- Lithuanian Standards Board Order No 13 of 22 February 1999 (this document, which contains 
a part of the Code of Good Practice disciplines,  established procedure of drafting, approval, 
publication and revision of standards); 
- Law on Metrology No. I-1452 of 9 July 1996; - Law No. VIII-870 of 6 October 199 8 on the Conformity Assessment; 
- Law on Product Safety No. VIII-1206 of 1 June 1999; - Law on Mental Health Care No. I-924 of 6 June 1996; - Law on the Amendment to the Law on Health Ca re Institutions No. VIII-288 of 24 June 1997; 
- Law on Health System No. I-552 of 19 July 1994; 
- Resolution No. 1106 of 9 October 1997 On Approv al of the Procedure of the Importation of 
Foodstuffs into the Republic of Lithuania and Co ntrol of Their Quality and Non-Hazardness to 
Health; 
- Law on Food No. VIII-1608 of 4 April 2000; 
- Law on Phytosanitary No. VIII-1481 of 16 December 1999; 
- Law on Veterinary Activities No. I-2110 of 17 December 1991; 
- Law on Veterinary Activities No. I-2110 of 17 December 1999; 
- Government Decision on Veterinary and Sanitary  Requirements on Livest ock, their Products, 
Raw Materials and Fodder Import ed into the Republic of Lithua nia and Transported as Transit 
through its Territory of 27 April 1993, No. 284;  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 63 
 
 
- Veterinary requirements of the Republic of Lithuania for import, export and transit of livestock, 
poultry, animal products, ra w materials, feedstuffs; 
- Veterinary Requirements of the Republic of Lithuania for import, export and transit of 
livestock, poultry, animal products, raw materials, feedstuffs; 
- Law on Plant Protection No. I-1069 of 19 October 1995; 
- Law on the Protection of Plant Vari eties and Seed Cultivation No. I-1518 of 
17 September 1996; 
- Government Decision on the Approval of Ve getable Quarantine Regulations for Import and 
Export of Goods of Vegetable Origin to and fro m the Republic of Lithua nia and their Transit 
through the Territory of the Republic of Lithuania of 3 August 1993, No. 599; 
- Government Resolution No. 384 On the Appr oval of Quarantine Regulations for the 
Production, Transportation, Conservation, Sale an d Utilization of Plants  and Plant Products on 
the Territory of the Republic of Lithuania of 25 March 1996; 
- Law on Trade No. I-747 of 12 January 1995; - Law on the Fundamentals of Free Econo mic Zones, No. I-976, 28 June 1995; 
- Government Resolution No. 510 On Approvi ng Provisional Regulations of Government 
Procurement of 12 April 1995; 
- Law on Public Procurement No. I-1491 of 13 August 1996; - Law on the Amendment of the Law on Public  Procurement, No. VIII-1210, 3 June 1999; 
- Law on State Regulation of Economic Relations in Agriculture No. I-734 of 
 22 December 1994; 
- Law No. I-734 of 22 December 1994 On Stat e Regulation of Economic Relations in 
Agriculture; 
- Decree of the Government of the Republic of  Lithuania No. 788 On the Approval of the 
Programme for the Regulation of Agricultura l and Food Products Market and Export 
Promotion; 
- Law on Sugar No. I-867 of 27 April 1995; 
- Law on the Amendment of the Law on Sugar, No.VIII-1328, 8 July 1999; - Legal Acts subject to calculation of total AMS for Lithuania's producers; - Law No. VIII-1185 of 18 May 1999 on Copyright and Related Rights; - Draft Law on the Amendment of Article 71 of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights; - Law on Trademarks and Service Marks of 3 June 1993, No. I-173; 
- Draft Law Amending the Law on Tr ademarks and Service Marks; 
- Patent Law of 18 January 1994, No. I-372; - Draft Law on the Amendment of Articles 26, 39 and 40 and on the Invalidation of Article 38 of 
the Patent Law of the Republic of Lithuania; 
- Law on Industrial Design No. I-1006 of 4 July 1995; 
- Draft Law on Amending and Supplementing Article 5 of the Law on Industrial Design; 
- Law No. VIII-791 of 16 June 1998 on the Legal Protection of Topographies of Semi-
conductor Products; 
- Draft Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Field of Import and Export of 
Goods; 
- Law on Amending Articles 35, 142, 308, 321-2 of  the Criminal Code and Supplementing the 
Code with Articles 142-1, 142-2 and 142-3; 
- Law Amending Articles 37, 126 and 143 of  the Code of Criminal Procedures; 
- Law on the Legal Status of Aliens, No VIII-978, 17 December 1998; - Law No. I-425 of 30 July 1990 on Stock Corporations; - Government Resolution No. 511 On Approving Regulations of Rendering Services of 
12 April 1995; 
- Government Decision on Registration of Repres entation Offices of Fo reign Enterprises and 
Banks in the Republic of Lithuania of 31 May 1991, No. 223; 
- Law on Commercial Banks No. I-720 of 21 December 1994; - Law on Insurance No. I-590 of 20 September 1990; 
- Law on Insurance No. I-1456 of 10 July 1996,  as amended on 23 Marc h 2000 (No. VII-1587); WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 64  
 
- Draft Law amending the Law on Insurance (Articles 2, 7, 11, 17, 22, 27, 28, 29, 31, 37, 39, 42, 
43, 45, 46, 47, 60, 63, 66); 
- Law on Public Trading in Securities No. I-1169 of 16 January 1996; - Law No. VIII-744 of 9 June 1998 on Telecommunications; - Law on Communications No. I-1109 of 30 November 1995; 
- Law on Tourism No. VIII-667 of 19 March 1998; 
- Law on Audit of 15 June 1999 No. VIII-1227; - Law No. I-119 of 6 April 1993 on Procedure of Publication and Coming into Force of Laws 
and other Legal Acts of th e Republic of Lithuania; 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the 
Republic of Lithuania on Trade in Agri cultural Products of 16 June 1996; 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Repub lic of Lithuania and the Czech Republic; 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Repub lic of Lithuania and the Slovak Republic; 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Slovenia; 
- Agreement between the Government of the Ki ngdom of Norway and the Government of the 
Republic of Lithuania concerning Tr ade in Agricultural Products; 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Swiss C onfederation and the Re public of Lithuania; 
- Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the 
Republic of Lithuania; 
- Agreement on Free Trade-Related Matters be tween the European Community, the European 
Atomic Energy Community and the European Co al and Steel Community, of the one part, and 
the Republic of Lithuania, of the other part; 
- Government Resolution No. 205 On Enactment of the Free Trade Ag reement between the 
Republic of Lithuania and the European Communities, the European Atomic Energy 
Community, and the European Coal and Steel Community of 8 February 1995; 
- Government Resolution No. 176 of 19 Fe bruary 1999 Concerning the Amendment of 
Government Resolution of 30 December 1998 No. 1524 Regarding the Implementation of the 
Europe Agreement Establishing an Associa tion Between the European Communities and 
Their Member States, of the One Part, and the Republic of Lithuania, of the Other Part; 
- Government Resolution No. 1524 of 30 Dece mber 1998 Regarding the Implementation of the 
Europe Agreement Establishing an Associa tion Between the European Communities and 
Their Member States, of the One Part, and the Republic of Lithuania, of the Other Part 
- Summary of the Free Trade Agreement Betw een the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine; 
- Statistical data on imports into Lithuani a of agricultural and food products;  and 
- Statistical data on exports from Lith uania of agricultural and food products. 
  
 
Laws and Regulations provided to the Workin g Party by Lithuania during the accession process, 
 
but no longer valid (June 1999):  
 - Law on Foreign Investme nt in the Republic of Lithuania of 29 December 1990, No. I-905; 
- Law on Spheres of Business Activity wherein Fo reign Investment is Pr ohibited or Limited of 
2 May 1991, No. I-1276; 
- Government Resolution No. 1459 On Licensi ng Import, Wholesale and Retail Trade in 
Alcoholic Products of  17 November 1995; 
- Government Resolution No. 1622 On Licensing th e Production of Tobacco and its Products and 
their Import into the Republic of  Lithuania of 27 December 1995; 
- Law on Customs Tariffs of 27 April 1993, No. I-138; 
- Schedule of tariffs approved by the Lithuanian Government's Resolution No. 443 
(16 June 1993); 
- Resolution No. 1367 of 30 December 1994 On the Establishment of the Structure of Customs 
Tariffs;  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 65 
 
 
- Government Resolution No. 1297 of 4 N ovember 1998 Supplementing the Government 
Resolution No. 302 of 25 April 1994 on Excise Taxes; 
- Government Decision on the Procedure of Co mmodity Export and Import Regulation in the 
Republic of Lithuania of 14 October 1994, No. 985; 
- Government Resolution No. 281 "On Partia l Amendments to Resolution No. 985 "On 
Procedure of Export and Import Regulation in the Republic of Lithuania" adopted by the 
Government of the Republic of Lithuani a on 14 October 1994" of 28 February 1995; 
- Government Resolution No. 449 On the Approval of the Order of Customs Valuation of Goods 
of 16 June 1993; 
- Government Decision on More Stringent Regulatio ns on Purchase and Sale of Waste and Scrap 
of Ferrous Metals of  23 May 1994, No. 388; 
- Government Decision on Order of Purchase in the Republic of Lithuania, Re-melting of Export 
of Copper and other Non-ferrous Metals, thei r Alloys, Scrap and Waste of 29 June 1994, 
No. 526; 
- Government Resolution No. 510 On Approvi ng Provisional Regulations of Government 
Procurement of 12 April 1995; 
- Law on the Amendment and Supplement to the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, 
No. I-459, 17 May 1994 (provisions on copyright); 
- Law on the Legal Protection of Computer  Programs and Databases No. I-1188 of 
30 January 1996; 
- Government Decision on Registration of Repres entation Offices of Fo reign Enterprises and 
Banks in the Republic of Lithuania of 31 May 1991, No. 223; 
- Law on Insurance No. I-590 of 20 September 1990;  and - Government Resolution No. 205 On Enactment of the Free Trade Ag reement between the 
Republic of Lithuania and the European Communities, the European Atomic Energy 
Community, and the European Coal and Steel Community of 8 February 1995. 
 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 66  
 
[Table 1(a):  Information on the Pr ivatization Process of State Property
 
 
First Stage of the Process  
(1 September 1991 - 31 December 1995) 
 
 Description Number of  
objects (units) Capital  
(mln Litas*) 
1. Total State property (except budgetary institutions, apartment fund 
and agricultural enterprises) 8,065 13,547.4 
2. Property included in a list of object to be privatized according to 
the data provided by founders 6,650 9,836.3 
3. Property included in privatization programmes, via signing the 
shares: 3,953 8,524.8 
3.1 - for the employees of the enterprises 2,077 1,223.6 
3.2 - percentage 52.5% 14.4% 
4. Privatized via signing the shares: 2,927 2,627.7 
4.1 - for the employees of the enterprises 1,887 860.5 
4.2 - percentage 64.5% 32.7% 
5. Comparing with those included in the programmes of the 
privatization (4:3) 74% 60% 
6. Property included into privatization programmes, via auctions 2,964 111.9 
7. Privatized via auctions 2,726 79.1 
8. Comparing with those included into privatization programmes 
(7:6) 92.0% 70.7% 
9. Property expected to privatize via tenders 15 499.3 
10. Privatized via tenders 14 485.8 
11. Property expected to privatize for hard currency 61 40.9 
12. Privatized for hard currency 47 28.0 
13. Total State property included into privatization programmes 
(3+6+9+11) 6,993 9,176.9 
14. Privatized State property (4+7+10+12) 5,714 3,220.6 
15. Comparing with those included into privatization programmes 
(14:13) 81.7% 35.1% 
16. Comparing with total property included in a list of objects to be 
privatized (14:2) 85.9% 32.7% 
17. State capital purchased by investment joint-stock companies  737.6 
18. Comparing with total privatized capital (17:14)  22.9% 
19. Total State capital in privatized objects (until privatization)  6,904.1 
20. Comparing with total capital included in a list of objects to be 
privatized (19:2)  59.0% 
21. State property remained after the initial privatization and 
purchased according to Gove rnment Resolution No.1063 803 284.5 
22. Comparing with total privatized property (21:14) 14.0% 8.83% 
23. Total privatized State capital (4+7+10+12+21)  3,505.1 
24. State property transferred to the investment fund 1,363 218.3 
25. Comparing with total State capital remained in privatized 
enterprises (24:19)  3.2% 
26. State capital remained in privat ized enterprises with the limited 
degree of the privatization  437 2,966.5 
 
Notes : 
1. The number of investment accounts opened for the population is 2.6 million for a total amount of 
10,504 million Litas (after indexation). 
2. 17 special enterprises were incl uded into privatization programme.  State capital of these enterprises 
 amounts to 3,825 million Litas. 
* 4 Litas = US$1 ]  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 67 
 
 
[Table 1(b):  Information on the Privatization Process of State and Municipalities Property  
 
(Second stage of the process - privatization by cash) 
August 1996 – 1 April 2000 
(number of objects (units)) 
 
STEP UNDERTAKEN State property Municipal 
property Total 
Enterprises included in a list of objects to be privatized 2,226 822 3,048 
Enterprises later excluded from the list of objects to be 
privatized 30 71 101 
Enterprises included in privatization programmes: 1,379 1,151 2,530 
- public signing of shares 69 0 69 
- auctions 1,233 1,125 2,358 
- tenders 61 6 67 
- leasing 11 19 30 
- direct negotiations 5 1 6 
Suspended privatization 10 4 14 
Privatized enterprises: 852 739 1,591 
-  public signing of shares 46 0 46 
- auctions 760 716 1,476 
- tenders 40 6 46 
- leasing 2 17 19 
- direct negotiations 4 0 4 
Privatized enterprises    
- industry 153 13 166 
- transport 29 0 29 
- communication 5 0 5 
- construction 78 3 81 
- trade 228 158 386 
- public utilities 8 13 21 
- services 14 27 41 
- real estate 280 516 796 
- other 57 9 66 
Proceeds (Litas '000) 2,93 8,443 87,353  3,025,796 
] WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 68  
 
[Table 1 (c ):  Progress in Privatization of Up and 
 
Downstream Industries in Lithuanian Agriculture  
(by 1 November 1999) 
 
Type of Enterprise Number Statutory Capital structure 
(per cent) 
  capital 
(million Litas)  State Private Foreign 
*Agroservice and agro-chemistry   30 48.4 5.5 94.5 - 
Pure-strain stock breading 9 8.2 0.5 99.5 - 
**Meat processing 8 89.5 13.2 86.8 - 
***Dairy industry 22 359.1 12.8 87.2 - 
Fruit & vegetables processing 2 5.4 24.2 75.8 - 
Grain processing industry 20 149.7 7.9 92.1 - 
Sugar industry 4 131.0 0 100 58
Vegetable oil industry 2 12.3 0 100 - 
Soap industry 2 11.5 13.3 86.7 - 
Bread and bakery industry  11 58.4 41.8 58.2 - 
Confectionery. 6 72.0 3.6 96.4 59.2
****Alcoholic beverages industry 5 202.7 72.7 27.3 - 
Beer industry 7 191.9 1.8 98.2 46.6
 
*  State has shares in some enterprises. **  In some enterprises, the State share exceeds the average;  State shares constitute about 45,7 per cent  in 
the Stock company "Panevezio maistas" and 16 per cent in "Taurages maistas". 
***  In some enterprises, the State share exceeds the av erage, i.e. State shares constitute about 48.9 per  cent 
in the Stock company "Marijampoles pieno konservai", 62.6 per cent in "Svencioniu pienine",  21.8 per cent 
in "Siauliu pienas" and 15 per cent in "Kauno pienas". ****  Alcoholic beverages producing enterprises are on the list of special-purpose enterprises and 
 privatisation degree of such companies can not exceed 30 per cent 
]  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7
 Page 69 [Table 2:  List of Goods and Services Subject to Price Control  
 
Code according 
 
HS NACE  
Items subject to price control  
Institution applying control  
Reasons and perspectives for control 
1 2 3 4 5 
- - Price of land sold by the State, price of land for 
computing of land tax and land lease tax Government Regulation of land price is related to the restitution 
of the rights to private land ownership. Having 
implemented land reform and having restored 
property ownership, the regulation of prices for land 
will be abolished. 
- - Tax tariffs for lease of the State-owned land and the 
State-owned water reservoirs Government Regulation is related to the State ownership for these 
items. 
 4010 Electricity production and transmission Suppliers of electricity in coordination with 
the independent State Prices and Energy Control Commission Controlled because of absence of sufficient 
competition in the market. 
 4020 Distribution of gas fuel (including only the 
distribution of natural gas) Suppliers of natural gas in coordination with 
the independent State Prices and Energy 
Control Commission Controlled because of absence of sufficient 
competition in the market. 
 4030 Supply of heat and hot water Suppliers of heat and hot water in 
coordination with the independent State 
Prices and Energy Control Commission Controlled because of absence of sufficient 
competition in the market. 
  Prices and tariffs fo r goods and services of 
economic entities having a dominant position in the 
market:   
 4100 Extraction, distribution and cleaning of water Local government s Controlled because of a mono poly position of the 
enterprises. 
 6010 Transportation of passengers by local ra ilway routes Ministry of Communication Controlled becau se of a monopoly position of the 
stock company "Lithuanian railways". 
 6021 Transportation of passengers by other type of land 
transport (passenger buses of local and long distance 
routes) Ministry of Communication and Local 
governments Subsidised service, it is planned to liberalise these 
prices. 
 6022 
 Passenger transportation by taxi Local governments Controlled because of specific character of this 
service in order to avoid a taxi drivers abuse of 
unreasonably high prices. 
 6120 Transportation of passengers by local ship routes Ministry of Communication It is planned to liberalise prices for these services.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 70 
Code according 
 
HS NACE  
Items subject to price control  
Institution applying control  
Reasons and perspectives for control 
1 2 3 4 5 
 6323 Control activities of the airport and aeroplanes' 
flights, on land services (air navigation, terminal air 
navigation, landing, guide-vehicle, follow-me, 
parking, security (Government Resolution No. 866, 21 06 1995) Ministry of Communication 
 
 Controlled because of a monopoly position of the 
airports. 
 6210 Transportation of passengers by air transport Ministry of Communication Regulated on basis of international agreements. 
 6322 Activities of navigation, ship ruling and anchorage, 
raising of sank ships (dues of the State Klaipëda Sea 
Port for: tonnage, canal, light house, pilotage, 
regulation of ship traffic, anchorage, sanitary, people rescuing and anti-pollution activities, mooring, 
quay, passenger toll (Government Resolution No. 
410, 10 06 1993) Ministry of Communication Controlled because of a monopoly position in the 
market. 
 6411 Postal services of the National post office 
(collection, transportation and delivery of letters, 
postcards, printed matter, sekograms, aerograms, 
small packages; receiving and payment of money orders; supply of postal cash (giro) banking 
operations; delivery (payment) of pensions and 
allowances) Ministry of Communication Subsidised services of social importance. 
 6420 Communication services (transmission by using 
international, inter town, local telephone lines,; 
switchboard services of telephone and telex, data 
transmission, line radio broadcasting) Ministry of Communication Services of social importance, controlled because of 
a monopoly position of the State enterprise 
"Lithuanian Telecom". 
 70 House rent prices of local governments' apartments Local governments Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices. 
 9000 Transportation of garbage and liquid sewage, care of 
courtyard territory Local governments Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
 6340, 
10 Maximum tariffs for services provided by customs 
intermediators Customs Department under the Ministry of 
Finance Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
 7492 Tariffs for apartment security services (Vilnius, 
Klaipëda) 
 Security Police Divisi ons under Chief Police 
Commissariats Services of specific charac ter, absence of sufficient 
competition.   WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7
 Page 71Code according 
 
HS NACE  
Items subject to price control  
Institution applying control  
Reasons and perspectives for control 
1 2 3 4 5 
 7422 Tariffs for services of legalisation of potential 
dangerous equipment, produced in Lithuania or 
imported, and tariffs for other similar services Technical Supervision Service under the 
Ministry of Social Security and Labour Services of specific charac ter, absence of sufficient 
competition. 
  Tariffs for services on issuing of a number of 
publisher of local credit card, a code of drafter of 
technical documents and of an assortment number of canned food Lithuanian Standards Board under the 
Ministry of Public Administration and Local 
Authorities Services of specific charac ter, absence of sufficient 
competition. 
 7422 Tariffs for issuing of quality certificates The Competiti on Council Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
 851 Tariffs of health care services for persons, supported 
by government or local government and provided by government or local government health care 
institutions Ministry of Health Care Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
 851 Tariffs for paid (private) health care services, 
provided by government or local government health 
care institutions Ministry of Health Care Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
30.03; 
30.04  Maximum trade mark ups for medicines Ministry of Health Care Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices. 
 523 Retail prices for medicines and medical materials of 
necessary assortment (about 350 items) Ministry of Health Care Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices. 
  Basic prices of compensated medicine and medicine 
materials Ministry of Health Care Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices. 
- - The prices for standing wood from State-owned 
forests and the order of determination of these prices. Ministry of Environment Governing of State-owned wood. 
  Tariffs for real estate and registration of the rights 
into it Ministry of Environment; 
Ministry of Agriculture Controlled because of a monopoly position of the 
enterprises. 
  Methods of calculation of the prices for checking 
of measuring appliances  State Metrology Service Controlled b ecause of absence of sufficient 
competition in the market, services of specific 
character. 
  Tariffs for assaying, marking and issuing the certificates of quality of precious metals and their 
products Ministry of Finance Controlled b ecause of absence of sufficient 
competition in the market in order to protect 
consumers from unreasonably high prices  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 72 
Code according 
 
HS NACE  
Items subject to price control  
Institution applying control  
Reasons and perspectives for control 
1 2 3 4 5 
  Tariffs for registration of vehicles Ministry of Interior Controlled because of exclusive rights of the 
institution 
  Tariffs for carriage of goods by railway transport Ministry of Communication Controlled because of dominant position of 
enterprise 
  Tariffs for certification of obligatory conformity 
assessment tests The Competition Council Absence of competition 
  Prices and tariffs for se rvices of structural 
subdivisions of local administration The Competition Council Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
  Tariffs for issuing the certificates of quality of  
precious stones Ministry of Finance Controlled b ecause of absence of sufficient 
competition in the market in order to protect consumers from unreasonably high prices 
  Tariffs and prices for se rvices provided by the 
State Government institutions The Competition Council Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
  Tariffs for providing notary services, preparation of projects of deals, providing of consultations and 
for the technical services Ministry of Justice Controlled in order to protect consumers from 
unreasonably high prices 
  Tariffs and prices for the goods and services 
provided by the enterprises of local municipality Executive institutions of local municipality Services of social importance, absence of sufficient 
competition. 
  Tariffs and prices for utility services provided to 
the population Executive Inspections of local municipality Services of social importance, absence of sufficient 
competition. 
] WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 73 
 
 
 [Table 3.1:  Licensing in Lithuania (Goods-Related Activities)  
 
 Business Activity Licence Required 
1. production of guns and their parts, ammunition, explosive 
chemicals, explosives, pyrotechnics;  repair of guns unless the laws 
provide otherwise Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
2. pharmaceutical activity  Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
3. growing and selling plants which contain narcotic, psychotropic, 
deadly and poisonous substances, also manufacturing, importing, 
and exporting narcotic and psychotropic substances, precursors and engaging in their wholesale and retail trade  Licences are available only for 
domestic interests. 
4. production of alcohol products which do not exceed 22% of ethyl 
alcohol by volume  Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
5. import of alcohol products to Lithuania, wholesale and retail trade 
by alcohol products  Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
6. production, import of tobacco and tobacco products, wholesale and 
retail trade  Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
7. purchasing of non-ferrous metals and its alloys scrap and waste in 
Lithuania  Licenses are not n ecessary when the 
scrap metal is bought up not for sale, but for production. 
8. purchasing of ferrous metals scrap and its waste in Lithuania   Licenses are not necessary when the 
scrap metal is bought up not for 
sale, but for production. 
9 purchasing and processing of precious metals waste, commercial 
activity related with the precious metals and jewels   Licences have been changed into 
permits or certificates, for which the 
procedure is fully automatic. 
10. production of seals, stamps    Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
11. production, transportation, wholesale trade, and storage  of 
dangerous chemical, nuclear or radi oactive materials listed by the 
Ministry of Environment;  also collection, decontamination, 
storage and landfill of hazardous waste  Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
12. import, export, wholesale and retail trade by the non-packed oil 
products listed by Government   Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
13. import of pyrotechnics (listed by the Ministry of Interior), civil 
weapons and ammunition;  wholesale and retail trade (excluding pistols and revolvers and ammunition thereof for self-defence)  Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
14. printing of securities and document forms Licence required for both domestic 
and foreign interests. 
15. import and production of biological plants protection products and 
commerce in such products Licences have been changed into 
permits or certificates, for which the 
procedure fully automatic. 
16. importation of radionics apparatus and electrical equipment which 
can diffuse radio waves  Licences have been changed into 
permits or certificates, for which the 
procedure is fully automatic. 
17. importation of colour copy machines Licences have been changed into 
permits or certificates, for which the 
procedure is fully automatic. 
18 production of undenatured ethyl alcohol and alcohol beverages 
which contain more than 22% of ethyl alcohol by volume (this 
right is given only to State enterprises unless the Law on Alcohol 
Control provides otherwise)  Activities reserved for State and 
special enterprises 
19 production of, monetary signs and coins, post-stamps  Activities reserved for State and 
special enterprises 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 74  
 
  
Table 3.2:  Licensing in Lithuania (Services-Related Activities)
 
 
 Business Activity Licensing Requirements 
1. prospecting of natural resources  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully 
automatic. 
2. the exploitation of natural resources  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully automatic. 
3. repair of sports and hunting firearms, weapons  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully 
automatic. 
4. pharmaceutical activity   Busine ss activity licence required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
5. provision of health care services  Perm it or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully 
automatic. 
6. veterinary practice  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully automatic. 
7. lawyer practice, unless the laws provide otherwis e  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully 
automatic. 
8. engaging in teaching activities, provided that a certificate 
of education recognized by the State is issued upon completion   Business activity licence required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
9. performing State land surveying, geodetic and 
topographical works   Business activity licence required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
10. provision of passenger tran sportation services within the 
Republic of Lithuania, also international passenger and 
cargo transportation services, unless other laws establish 
otherwise   Business activity licence required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
11. tourism services  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully 
automatic. 
12. organizing of lotteries   Business activity license required, available 
only for domestic interests. 
13. setting up and operating general telecommunications 
network, providing telecommunications services Business activity licence required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
14. establishment and operation of shooting-ranges, shooting-
galleries and hunting shooting-ranges   Business activity licence required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
15. mediation activity in public turnover of securities or 
advisory activity of third parties related to investment in 
securities  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully 
automatic. 
16. energetic activity  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully
automatic. 
17. provision of shipbroker's services  Perm it or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully automatic. 
18. lockman services  Permit or certificate required for both foreign 
and domestic interests. Procedure is fully 
automatic. 
19. insurance activity   Business activity licence required for both 
foreign and domestic interests.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 75 
 
 
  Business Activity Licensing Requirements 
20. research, preservation and restoration of immovable cultural values, 
preparation of conditions, projects and programs for these works; also preservation and restoration of movable cultural values; Permit or certificate required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. Procedure is fully automatic. 
21. towing of ships; rescue and submarine technical works; Permit or certificate required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
Procedure is fully automatic. 
22. bank or credit institution activity Business activity licence required for 
both foreign and domestic interests. 
23. construction activity Permit or certificate required for both 
foreign and domestic interests. 
Procedure is fully automatic. 
24. Collection, distribution, transportation and delivery of post 
dispatches with weight not exceeding 2 kg, post parcels with 
weight not exceeding 10 kg, re gistered and estimated post 
dispatches and parcels Universal post services are reserved 
for State Post. 
 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 76  
 
 [Table 4:  Rates of Stamp Tax Established in Accordance with
 
Government Resolution No. 1123 of 11 November 1994  
(with amendment No. 366 of 31 March 2000,  which entered into force on 1 May 2000)  
 
1. For issuing an activity licences for importation and wholesale of 
 imported alcohol (for the term of one year):  
(a) Vodka and other alcoholic be verages Llt. 80,000 (US$20,000) 
(b) Wine (not exceeding 22% of volume concentration of ethyl 
 alcohol) and beer Llt. 40,000 (US$10,000) 
(c) Beer Llt. 10,000 (US$2,500 
(d) Alcohol products (except alcoholic beverages) Llt. 300 (US$75) 
2. For issuing a licence to engage in wholesale of alcohol produced 
 in Lithuania (for the term of one year):  
(a) Alcoholic beverages  Llt. 80,000 (US$20,000) 
(b) Alcoholic beverages not  exceeding 22% of volume 
 concentration of ethyl alcohol Llt. 40,000 (US$10,000)) 
(c) Beer Llt. 10,000 (US$2,500) 
3. For issuing an activity licence fo r importation of tobacco  (for the 
 term of one year)  
Llt. 6,000 (US$1,500) 
 For issuing an activity licence for importation (and 
 wholesale)  of tobacco produc ts (for the term of one year)  
Llt. 15,000 (US$3,750)* 
4. For issuing an activity licence fo r wholesale of tobacco  products 
 (for the term of one year)  
Llt. 15,000 (US$3,750)* 
5. For issuing an activity  licence for importation and for 
 wholesale of imported oil products: petrol, liquid fuel, kerosene,  aircraft fuel, diesel fuel and lu bricants (for the term of one year)  
 
Llt. 120,000 (US$30,000) 
6. For issuing a licence to engage in wholesale of oil products  (for the term of one year)  
Llt. 120,000 (US$30,000) 
7. For issuing a licence to engage in retail trade of oil products 
 in each petrol station Llt. 3,000 (US$750) for each qualify 
of petrol, diesel fuel and liquid fuel 
8. For issuing a licence to engage in importation/wholesale of motor 
 oil. Llt 5,000 (US$1,250) 
9. For issuing a licence for wholesale of motor oil Llt 5,000 (US$1,250) 
10. For issuing a licence to engage in retail trade of lubricants Llt. 1,000 (US$250) 
* additional stamp tax for w holesale trade charged for each additional branch/division – Llt. 3,000 (US$750). 
 
 
 
Licensing Fees for Pharmaceutical Business Activity  
 
Retail sale of medicine a nd medicine materials 300 litas 
Production and retail sale of medicine  and medicine materials 300 litas  
Wholesale of medicine and me dicine materials 1,000 litas   
Production of pharmaceutical prod ucts and preparations 800 litas  
Rendering of information about medicine 300 litas  
Production of narcotics and ps ychotropic substances and me dicine materials 200 litas  
Production of psychotropic substances  and medicine materials 200 litas  
Wholesale, import and export of narcotics and psychotropic substances and medicine 
materials 300 litas 
Wholesale, import and export of psychotropic substances an d medicine materials 300 litas  
Retail sale of narcotics a nd psychotropic substances a nd medicine materials 100 litas 
Retail sale, of psychotropic substa nces and medicine materials 100 litas 
]  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 77 
 
 
 [Table 5:  Fees and Charges for Services Rendered Relating to Importation or Exportation  
 
Description Rates Purpose of taxes 
1. Formalities in connection with placement of one 
consignment of goods under one of the following 
customs procedures:  To cover expenses for the 
acceptance of corresponding 
documents, verification of data, 
registration, etc. The number of documents and the time of 
verification and registration is 
different for different procedures (indicated below). Therefore, the 
taxes also are different. 
(a) Exportation (including re-exportation) Llt. 22 (Llt. 1 - 
US$0.25)  
(b) Importation (including re-importation and customs 
warehousing) Llt. 33  
(c) Temporary admission and temporary exportation Llt. 55  
(d) Inward processing and outward processing Llt. 110  
2. Issuance of one certificate of origin Llt. 25 To cover expenses of verification 
of documents, verification of origin of goods, issuance of 
certificate of origin 
3. Issuance of stickers used for marking of imported 
alcoholic beverages and tobacco goods (under one 
request)  
Llt. 20  To cover expenses of issuance of 
stickers 
4. Issuance of permit to carry out formalities in connection with customs procedures at other customs 
office:  When an importer or exporter 
wants to declare the goods with 
Customs office in which his abode 
(residence) is not registered, he 
has to get the permit from the 
Customs operating in his zone. The taxes are different (indicated 
below) depending on the duration 
of permits. 
(a) Single Llt. 10  
(b) For period not exceedi ng 3 months Llt. 20  
(c) For the period not exceeding 6 months Llt. 60  
(d) For the period exceeding 6 months Llt. 80  
5. For the security of goods carriage through customs 
territory (only for the servi ces of police financed by 
state budget) Llt. 0.8 per 1 kilometre To cover the expenses of issuance 
of corresponding documents and 
for the services of the police ensuring security of goods 
carriage 
6. Issuance of permit to import:   To cover the expenses of issuance 
of permit and for the control of 
import of guns and ammunition (safety reasons) 
(a) Shotguns, hunting rifles, its parts arbalets Llt. 70  
(b) Shotguns, hunting rifles, its parts arbalets for the 
commercial goals Llt. 6,000  
(c) Pistols (revol vers), its parts for the self-defence, for 
commercial goals Llt. 2,000  
(d) Ammunition and explosives Llt. 50  
(e) Ammunition for commercial goals Llt. 4,000  
(f) Sporting firearms Llt. 20  
(g) Sporting firearms for commercial goals Llt. 2,000  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 78  
 
 Description Rates Purpose of taxes 
(h) Air gains (pistols), gas pistols (revolvers) and 
ballones for commercial goals Llt. 3,000  
(i) Colour copy machinery Llt. 40  
(j) Colour copy machinery for commercial goals Llt. 4,000 To prevent illegal printing of 
counterfeit documents 
7. Issuance of permit to export:  To cover the expenses of issuance 
of permit and for the control of 
export of guns and ammunition 
(safety reasons) 
(a) Shotguns, hunting rifles, its parts arbalets Llt. 70  
(b) Shotguns, hunting rifles, its parts arbalets for the commercial goals Llt. 6,000  
(c) Pistols (revol vers), its parts for the self-defence, for 
commercial goals Llt. 2,000  
(d) Ammunition and explosives Llt. 50  
(e) Ammunition for commercial goals Llt. 4,000  
(f) Sporting firearms Llt. 20  
(g) Sporting firearms for commercial goals Llt. 2,000  
(h) Air gains (pistols), gas pistols (revolvers) and 
balloons for commercial goals Llt. 3,000  
(i) Colour copy machinery Llt. 40  
(j) Colour copy machinery fo r commercial goals Llt. 4,000 fo r prevention of illegal printing 
of counterfeit documents 
8. Issuance of permit to wholesale trade, import and 
export of narcotic drugs, psyhotropic medicine and their medicine substance Llt. 300 To cover expenses of issuance of 
permit and for the control the 
activity related to narcotic and 
psychotropic substances (to 
protect life and health of people, 
animals and plants) 
9. Issuance of permit to wholesale trade, import and 
export of psyhotropic medicine and psychotropic 
medicine substances Llt. 300 To cover expenses of issuance of 
permit and for the control the 
activity related to narcotic and 
psyhotropic substances (to protect 
life and health of people, animals 
and plants) 
10. Transportation of nuclear and radioactive mate rials Llt. 500 To cover expenses of issuance of 
permit and for control of safety 
11. Import of pyrotechnics remedies, civil guns and its ammunition, except pistols and revolvers for the self-
defence and its ammunition Llt. 5,000 To cover expenses of issuance of 
licence and for the control of 
enterprises (illegal activity) 
12. Issuance of permission to temporary export for 
processing Llt. 221 To cover expenses of issuance of 
permit and for the evaluation of 
conformity with the conditions 
related to this procedure. Because, 
in accordance with Customs Code, any customs procedure 
which can have an economic 
influence, can be performed only with Customs permit.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 79 
 
 
 Description Rates Purpose of taxes 
13. Issuance of permission to temporary import for 
processing Llt. 200 To cover expenses of issuance of 
permit and for the evaluation of 
conformity with the conditions 
related to this procedure. Because, 
in accordance w ith the Customs 
Code, any customs procedure 
which can have an economic 
influence, can be performed only with Customs permit. 
14. Issuance of license to import, export and transport:  To cover expenses of issuance of 
licence and for the safety reasons. 
Below enumerated charges allows to control the movement of 
dangerous chemical materials and 
identify their users. 
(a) Controlled goods Llt. 120  
(b) Dangerous materials according UN classification Llt. 44  
(c) Radioactive materials according UN classification Llt. 77  
15. Issuance of certificate confirming about the 
delivering and import of controlled goods Llt. 100 To cover expenses of issuance of 
licence and for the safety reasons 
16. Export of itinerant culture values (older than 50 
years) or antiquarian things 20% of value National value 
17. Export of numismatics, philately, bonistics and 
faleristics 10% of value National value 
]WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 80  
 
 [Table 6:  Excise Taxes Levied in Lithuania According to
 
Government Resolution No.1515 of 30 December 1998 (with Amendment No. 875 of 30 July 1999) 
and Amendments to the Law on Excise Taxes of 21 December 1998, 30 September 1999, 
23 December 1999 and 17 February 2000  
 
Commodity 
code Commodity description Taxes  (by percentage of taxable value 
or absolute Llt for indicated 
measurement unit*) 
2207.10.00.0;  
2208 
(except2208.90.69.1; 
2208.90.69.3)** Undenatured ethyl alcohol and alcoholic  
beverages, except for mead brandy, champagne, 
wine, beer and  medicinal preparations with medicinal herbs containing ethyl alcohol and  
registered in the State Medicines Register  Llt. 0.30 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre 
2208.90.69.1 Mead brandies Llt. 0.12 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre 
 Wine (fortified wines including) of an alcoholic 
strength by volume not exceeding 13% vol:  
2204.21.11.0- 
2204.21.80.0, 
2204.29.12.0- 
2204.29.75.0, 2205.10.10.1, 
2205.90.10.1 Wine of fresh grapes 
 Llt. 0.16 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre  
2204.30, ex2206.00 Grape must, other fermented beverages and their 
mixtures Llt. 0.12 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre  
 Wine (fortified wines including) of an alcoholic 
strength by volume of more than 13% vol, but not exceeding 18% vol:  
2204.21.81.0- 
2204.21.94.0,  
2204.29.81.0- 2204.29.94.0,  
2205.10.10.9, 
2205.90.10.9, Wine of fresh grapes 
 Llt. 0.29 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre 
ex2206.00 Other fermented beverages and their mixtures Llt. 0.16 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre 
2204.21.95.0- 2204.21.99.0, 
2204.29.95.0- 
2204.29.99.0, 2205.10.90.0, 
2205.90.90.0, 
ex2206.00 Wine and other fermented beverages and their 
mixtures of an alcoholic strength by volume 
exceeding 18% vol Llt. 0.38 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre 
2204.10.11.0- 2204.21.10.0, 
2204.29.10.0 Champagne, sparkling wine and wine with an 
excess pressure Llt. 0.25 per 1% of an alcoholic 
strength by volume per one litre 
2203.00 Beer Llt. 0.40/litre*** 
2402.20.10.0- 
2402.20.90.0 Filter and filterless cigarettes   Llt. 30 per 1,000 units (from 1 March 
 2000 
2402.10.00.0, 
2402.90.00.0, 2403**** Packed smoking tobacco and other tobacco 
products 50 
2710.00.27.1- 
2710.00.37.0 Motor fuel/petrol Llt. 1210 per ton***** 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 81 
 
 
 Commodity 
code Commodity description Taxes  (by percentage of taxable value 
or absolute Llt for indicated 
measurement unit*) 
2710.00.51.0, 
2710.00.55.0, 
2710.00.66.1- 2710.00.68.9 Jet fuel, kerosene, gas oils (diesel fuel oil), 
heavy fuel oil Llt. 560 per ton)***** 
 
2710.00.74.0, 2710.00.76.0, 
2710.00.78.0, 2710.00.97.1, 
2714.90.00.1 Heavy fuel oil, orimulsion Llt. 20 per ton 
2710.00.87.0- 
2710.00.96.0, 
2710.00.97.8 Lubricants of all types  Llt. 240 per ton 
ex1806.20, 
ex1806.31, 
ex1806.32, 
ex1806.90 Chocolate and other food preparations 
containing cocoa, except  cocoa powder and food 
preparations containing less than 18% by weight 
of cocoa butter 10 
0901 Coffee 10 
7113, 7114, 
7116 Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of 
precious metal or clad with precious metal, articles of goldsmiths’ or silversmiths’ wares 
and parts thereof, of preci ous metals or of clad 
with precious metal, articles of natural or cultured pearls, preciou s or semi-precious 
stones-natural, synthetic or reconstructed 10 
8703.21.10.1, 
8703.21.90.2, 8703.22.19.1, 
8703.22.90.2, 
8703.23.19.1, 8703.23.90.2, 
8703.24.10.1, 
8703.24.90.2, 8703.31.10.1, 
8703.31.90.2, 
8703.32.19.1, 
8703.32.90.2, 
8703.33.19.1, 8703.33.90.2 Luxury motor vehicles, not older than 5 years 
(except for special motor vehicles) specified in the list of State Agency of Competition and 
Consumer  Protection at the Government of 
Lithuania 15 from price exceeding Llt. 60,000 
2716.00.00.0 Electricity 1  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 82  
 
 Commodity 
code Commodity description Taxes  (by percentage of taxable value 
or absolute Llt for indicated 
measurement unit*) 
4901.10.00.1, 
4901.99.00.1, 
4902.10.00.1, 4902.90.10.1, 
4902.90.30.1, 
4902.90.90.1, 4908.10.00.1, 
4908.90.00.1, 
4909.00.10.1, 4909.00.90.1, 
4910.00.00.1, 
4911.10.10.1, 4911.10.90.1, 
4911.91.10.1, 
4911.91.80.1, 
4911.99.00.1, 
9504.40.00.1 Publications of erotic and violent character 75 
0402.10.91.0, Sugar, including sugar contained in food  0.01 Llt per 1% of sugar per 1 kg of  
0402.10.99.0, preparations preparation 
0402.29.15.0,   
0402.29.19.0,   
0402.29.91.0,   
0402.29.99.0,   
0402.99.11.0,   
0402.99.19.0,   
0402.99.31.0,   
0402.99.39.0,   
0402.99.91.0,   
0402.99.99.0,   
0404.10.26.0,   
0404.10.28.0,   
0404.10.32.0,   
0404.10.34.0,   
0404.10.36.0,   
0404.10.38.0,   
0404.10.72.0,   
0404.10.74.0,   
0404.10.76.0,   
0404.10.78.0,   
0404.10.82.0,   
0404.10.84.0,   
0406.10.20.1,   
0406.10.80.1,   
1701.11.10.0,   
1701.11.90.0,   
1701.12.10.0,   
1701.12.90.0,   
1701.91.00.0,   
1701.99.10.0,   
1701.99.90.0,   
1702.20.10.0,   
1702.20.90.0,   
1702.90.60.0,   
1702.90.71.0,    WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 83 
 
 
 Commodity 
code Commodity description Taxes  (by percentage of taxable value 
or absolute Llt for indicated 
measurement unit*) 
1702.90.75.0,   
1702.90.79.0,   
1702.90.99.0,   
1704.10.11.0,   
1704.10.19.0,   
1704.10.91.0,   
1704.10.99.0,   
1704.90.30.0,   
1704.90.51.0,   
1704.90.55.9,   
1704.90.61.2,   
1704.90.61.3,   
1704.90.61.4,   
1704.90.65.0,   
1704.90.71.0,   
1704.90.75.0,   
1704.90.81.0,   
1704.90.99.0,   
1806.10.20.0,   
1806.10.30.0,   
1806.10.90.0,   
1806.20.10.0,   
1806.20.30.0,   
1806.20.50.0,   
1806.20.70.1,   
1806.20.70.9,   
1806.20.80.1,   
1806.20.80.9   
1806.20.95.1##,   
1806.31.00.2,   
1806.31.00.3,   
1806.31.00.7,   
1806.31.00.8,   
1806.32.10.2,   
1806.32.10.7,   
1806.32.90.4,   
1806.32.90.6,   
1806.90.11.2,   
1806.90.11.6,   
1806.90.19.2,   
1806.90.19.7,   
1806.90.31.2,   
1806.90.31.6,   
1806.90.39.2,   
1806.90.39.6,   
1806.90.50.2,   
1806.90.50.6,   
1806.90.60.1,   
1806.90.60.3,   
1806.90.60.6,   
1806.90.60.8,   
1806.90.70.2,   
1806.90.70.6,   WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 84  
 
 Commodity 
code Commodity description Taxes  (by percentage of taxable value 
or absolute Llt for indicated 
measurement unit*) 
1806.90.90.2,   
1806.90.90.7,   
1901.20.00.1,   
1901.90.99.1,   
1901.90.99.2,   
1901.90.99.3,   
1901.90.99.4,   
1905.20.10.0,   
1905.20.30.0,   
1905.20.90.0,   
1905.30.11.0,   
1905.30.11.1,   
1905.30.19.0,   
1905.30.19.1,   
1905.30.30.0,   
1905.30.30.1,   
1905.30.51.1,   
1905.30.59.1,   
1905.30.99.1,   
1905.30.99.3,   
1905.90.60.1,   
2006.00.38.0,   
2006.00.10.0,   
2006.00.31.0,   
2007.91.10.0,   
2007.99.10.0,   
2007.99.20.0,   
2007.99.31.0,   
2007.99.33.0,   
2007.99.35.0,   
2007.99.39.1,   
2007.99.39.9,   
2009.11.91.0,   
2009.19.91.0,   
2009.20.91.0,   
2009.30.51.0,   
2009.30.91.0,   
2009.40.91.0,   
2009.60.71.0,   
2009.60.79.0,   
2009.70.91.0,   
2009.80.61.0,   
2009.80.83.0,   
2009.80.84.0,   
2009.80.86.0,   
2009.90.31.0,   
2009.90.71.0,   
2009.90.92.0,   
2009.90.94.0,   
2101.12.92.1,   
2101.12.92.2,   
2101.12.92.3,   
2101.12.92.4,    WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 85 
 
 
 Commodity 
code Commodity description Taxes  (by percentage of taxable value 
or absolute Llt for indicated 
measurement unit*) 
2101.12.92.5,   
2101.12.98.1,   
2101.12.98.2,   
2101.12.98.3,   
2101.12.98.4,   
2101.12.98.5,   
2101.20.91.1,   
2101.20.91.2,   
2101.20.91.3,   
2101.20.91.4,   
2101.20.91.5,   
2101.30.99.1,   
2101.30.99.2,   
2101.30.99.3,   
2101.30.99.4,   
2101.30.99.5,   
2106.90.98.7##,   
2105.00.10.0,   
2105.00.91.0,   
2105.00.99.0,   
2106.90.59.0,   
2106.90.98.7,   
2309.10.90.0    
3303.00.10.1, 10 Llt per 1 liter of preparation 
3303.00.90.1,  
3304.99.00.1,  
3307.10.00.1,  
3307.90.00.1, Liquid perfumes, cosmetic and toilet 
preparations and other preparations, which 
contain ethyl alcohol and due to their low 
price may be used as substitutes or alcoholic beverages  
1302.19.30.1,   
2008.20.11.1,   
2008.20.19.1,   
2008.20.31.1,   
2008.20.39.1,   
2008.30.19.1,   
2008.30.39.1,   
2008.40.19.1,   
2008.40.29.1,   
2008.40.31.1,   
2008.40.39.1,   
2008.50.19.1,   
2008.50.39.1,   
2008.50.51.1,   
2008.50.59.1,   
2008.60.19.1,   
2008.60.39.1,   
2008.70.19.1,   
2008.70.19.1,   
2008.70.39.1,   
2008.70.51.1,   
2008.70.59.1,   
2008.80.19.1,   
2008.80.19.1,   WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 86  
 
 Commodity 
code Commodity description Taxes  (by percentage of taxable value 
or absolute Llt for indicated 
measurement unit*) 
2008.80.39.1,   
2008.92.16.1,   
2008.92.18.1,   
2008.92.36.1,   
2008.92.38.1,   
2008.99.19.1,   
2008.99.21.1,   
2008.99.23.1,   
2008.99.32.1,   
2008.99.33.1,   
2008.99.34.1,   
2008.99.38.1,   
2008.99.40.1,   
2103.90.90.3,   
2106.90.20.1,   
2106.90.92.7,   
2106.90.98.8,   
2207.20.00.1,   
2207.20.00.9,   
3302.10.10.1,   
3302.10.40.2,   
3302.10.90.2,   
3306.90.00.1,   
3824.90.95.1   
* The taxable value shall be:  
- -sale price free from excise tax and VA T of commodities produced in Lithuania; 
- -customs value, including duties, of imported commodities. 
** Commodity codes are presented according to the HS (1999) codes. 
*** Excise tax - Llt. 0.2 per litre - shall be levied on the first 100 thousand decalitres of domestically-
produced or imported beer by beer manufacturing companies producing 800 thousand decalitres per 
year (this provision is applied from 1 January 2000). 
**** Excise tax shall not be levied  on tobacco (Code 2403. 10.90.1) imported by th e joint-stock company 
“Philip Morris Lietuva”.  Only one producer of tobacco (Code 2403.10.90.1) operates in Lithuania 
currently, but if the number of such producers would in crease on all of them the excise tax will not be 
levied.  In the case when imported tobacco in this company is used not for production of cigarettes, but 
for other purposes, the excise tax shall be levied.  
***** As from 1 April 2000 (under the Amendment to the Law on Excise Taxes of 17 February 2000), excise 
tax is not levied on any enterprise (domestic or foreign) having a licence to supply jet fuel (HS code 
2710.00.51.0) to enterprises transporting passen gers or cargo in international air traffic 
# medicines with herbs (domestically-produced and imported). ## excise is not adjusted fo r sugar syrup with sorbitol. 
]  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 87 
 
 
 [Table 7:  VAT Exemptions in Accordance with the Amendment No.VIII-451  
to the Law on Value Added Tax of 14 October 1997 and No. VIII-557 of 9 December 1997  
 
1  health supervision services rendered by the public and budgetary institutions of the State and 
municipalities health supervision and veterinary services rendered by the institutions of the State 
veterinary service; medicines (including veterinarian);  
medical equipment; 
materials, used for medicines production; medicine goods.  
2 social services rendered by kinderg artens and day care centres, old a nd disabled peoples board and lodging 
3 training, science, studies services rendered by educ ation, science and studies institutions, registered 
according the order established by the Government; 
non-commercial culture services listed by the Government; 
4 post services (except sending forward the parcels a nd the telecommunication services and postage stamps 
and envelopes); 
5 financial services listed by the Government and re ndered by the insurance, banks and other credit unions 
institutions; 
turnover of securities and lotteries; 
6 coffins;  
funeral wreaths;  
temporary tombstones; burying services; 
7 printing, publishing and distribution of magazines (l isted by the Government), newspapers, books (except 
editions, which Journalists and Editors Commission for Ethics recognised among the categories having 
erotic and violent character);  news-print; 
8 services and actions, rated by  consular and stamp taxes; 
local, State levies and taxes included in the State and municipalities budgets or special accounts opened in 
fisc or in the privatization funds; 
9 State property being privatized; 
10 works and services done for traditional Lithuanian religious communities and paid from sacrificed means; 
11 rent (more than 2 months) of flats and houses; 
12 rent of land; 
13 services rendered by traditional Lithuanian religious communities and paid by sacrificed means, traditional 
handicrafts for which the special commission of handicraft experts gave such status; 
14 passenger transport services according certain routes de fined by the Ministry of Transport or municipalities;
15 levies for sea ports, airports, flights ruling and aeronavigation services; 
16 construction of apartments; renovation, heating and projecting works; including construction of engineering 
networks and territory improvement financed from Stat e or municipalities budgets, soft credits provided by 
State or special State funds;  
17 goods with UNICEF mark according the list formed by the Government; 
18 restoration or conservation of culture monuments and heritage financed from the State or municipalities
budgets, also from sacrificed means or received as support;  
19 exported goods (including returned to abroad temporary imported goods for processing) (zero VAT tariff); 
20 transportation of exported goods when final point is outside Lithuanian customs territory; also all services 
related with foreign cargo transportation by transit through territory of Lithuania (zero VAT tariff); 
21 freight, exploitation, repairmen, agency of ship s and planes transporting goods and passengers by 
international routes  (zero VAT tariff); 
22 goods imported to bonded warehouses, duty-free shops, free economic zones and free warehouses; 
23 services provided by enterprises,  institutions and orga nizations outside Lithua nia (zero VAT tariff);  
24 goods and services for which direc tly paid residents of foreign coun tries and which are used for the 
production of goods for export or reexport (zero VAT tariff); 
25 imported goods received as charity (humanitarian aid); 
26 imported by natural persons (pas sengers) if the quantity of imported goods is permitted to import without 
customs duties; WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 88  
 
 27 goods transported by diplomatic and consular represen tatives, also by international organizations for the 
official activity of mission, if VAT exemptions are foreseen in the agreements between these 
international organizations and the Republic of Lithuania.; 
28 received as support for budget institutions; 
29 parcels sent by mail which weight is not more than 31.5 kg and value up to 400 Litas; 
30 goods related with defence and safety  of the Republic of Lithuania according the single cases defined by the 
Government; 
 
  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 89 
 
 
  
[Table 8:  Conformity of Lithuania’s current provisions with the WTO Agreement  
on Customs Valuation on an article by article basis  
 
Agreement on 
Implementation of 
Article VII of the 
GATT 1994 The Order of Customs Valuation of Goods 
approved by Government Resolution 
No.748 of 9 June 1999 of Lithuania (which 
entered into force on 1 April 2000) The Customs Code of Lithuania 
(entered into force 1 January 1998) 
 
Article 1   Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs purposes 
Article 30 
Paragraphs 1-5 conform to the respective Article of WTO 
Agreement. 
Article 2 (i)  Section III 
(ii) Application of other methods of 
customs valuation 
Paragraphs 18.1-18.3 conform to paragraphs 
1(b), 2 and 3 of the respective Article of WTO Agreement. Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs purposes 
Article 31  
Paragraphs 1 and 2(1) conform to paragraph 1(a) of the respective 
Article of WTO Agreement.  
Article 3 (iii)  Section III 
(iv) Application of other methods of 
customs valuation 
Paragraphs 19.1-19.3 conform to paragraphs 
1(b), 2 and 3 of the respective Article of WTO Agreement. Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs 
purposes 
Article 31  
Paragraphs 1 and 2(2) conform to paragraph 1(a) of the respective 
Article of WTO Agreement. 
Article 4 (v)   Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs 
purposes Article 31  
Paragraph 1 conforms to the 
respective Article of WTO Agreement. 
Article 5 (vi)  Section III. 
(vii) Application of other methods of 
customs valuation Paragraphs 21-22  conform the respective 
Article of WTO Agreement. 
 Note:  Draft amendment of paragraph 21 of 
Government Resolution No. 748 has been 
prepared in order to make it fully conform with paragraphs 1(a) and 1(b) of the 
respective Article of the WTO Agreement.  
Government will approve it within the next 
two months. Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs 
purposes Article 31  
Paragraph 2(3) conforms to 
paragraph 1(a) of the respective Article of WTO Agreement.  
Paragraph 3 provides reference to 
the implementing provisions. 
Article 6 (viii)  Section III 
(ix) Application of other methods of 
customs valuation (x)  Paragraph 24.1 conforms to paragraph 2 
of the respective Article of WTO 
Agreement. Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs 
purposes Article 31  
Paragraph 2(4) conforms to 
paragraph 1 of the respective Article of WTO Agreement. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 90  
 
 Agreement on 
Implementation of 
Article VII of the 
GATT 1994 The Order of Customs Valuation of Goods 
approved by Government Resolution 
No.748 of 9 June 1999 of Lithuania (which 
entered into force on 1 April 2000) The Customs Code of Lithuania 
(entered into force 1 January 1998) 
 
Article 7 (xi)  Section V 
(xii)  Final provisions  
Paragraph 59 conforms to paragraph 3 of the 
respective Article of the WTO Agreement. Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs purposes 
Article 32  
Paragraphs 1-2 conform to paragraphs 1-2 of the respective 
Article of the WTO Agreement. 
 
Article 8 (xiii) Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs 
purposes 
Article 33  Paragraphs 1-3 conform to the 
respective Artcile of the WTO 
Agreement. 
Article 9 (xiv)  Section V 
(xv)  Final provisions 
 
Paragraphs 48-50 conform to the respective Article of the WTO Agreement. Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs 
purposes 
Article 36 The Article conforms to the 
respective Article of WTO 
Agreement. 
Article 10 (xvi) Chapter II  
The rights and obligations of 
persons with regard to the 
implementation of the provisions of the Code 
Article 8  
The Article conforms to the respective Article of WTO 
Agreement. 
Article 11 (xvii) Chapter XXII 
Appeals 
Right to appeal against decissions 
taken by the customs authorities is 
provided in this Chapter.  The provisions of this Chapter conform 
to the respective Article of the 
WTO Agreement. 
Article 13 (xviii)  Government Resolution No. 748 of 
9 June 1999  
Paragraph 2.2 conforms to the respective 
Article of the WTO Agreement. Chapter XI  
Customs procedures Article 73  
Paragraph 1 conforms to the 
respective Article of WTO 
Agreement. 
Article 199 Paragraph 2 provides reference to 
the implementing provisions.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 91 
 
 
 Agreement on 
Implementation of 
Article VII of the 
GATT 1994 The Order of Customs Valuation of Goods 
approved by Government Resolution 
No.748 of 9 June 1999 of Lithuania (which 
entered into force on 1 April 2000) The Customs Code of Lithuania 
(entered into force 1 January 1998) 
 
Article 15 (xix)  Section I 
General provisions Paragraph 2 conforms to sub-paragraphs 
1(c), 2(a), 2(b), 2(d), and paragraph 3 of the 
respective Article of the WTO Agreement. Paragraph 3 conforms to sub-paragraph 2(c) 
of the respective Article of the WTO 
Agreement. (xx)  Section II 
Application of transaction value method 
Paragraph 9 conforms to paragraph 5 of the respective Article of the WTO Agreement. 
(xxi)  Section III 
Application of other methods of customs 
valuation. 
Paragraphs 18.4 and 19.4 conform to sub-paragraph 2(e) of the respective Article of 
the WTO Agreement. 
 Chapter VI 
Value of goods for customs purposes 
Article 29 
This Article conforms to sub-paragraph 1(a) of the respective 
Article of the WTO Agreement. 
Article 30 Paragraph 8 includes provisions of 
paragraph 4 of the respective 
Article of WTO Agreement.  
Article 16 (xxii)  Section V 
Final provisions Paragraph 59 conforms to the respective 
Article of the WTO Agreement. Chapter II  
The rights and obligations of persons with regard to the 
implementation of the provisions of 
the Code 
Article 4 
Paragraph 3 conforms to the respective Article of WTO 
Agreement. 
] WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 92  
 
 [Table 9.1:  Rates of Export Duties Approved by Government Resolution No. 2 of 4 January 2000
 
 
Code of group of goods* Description of group of goods Tariff rate** 
4101, 4103 Raw hides and skin 15 per cent 
 
* Codes of groups (goods) are presented according to  the EEC Harmonized Commodity Description and 
Coding System. 
** Goods without codes herein are subject to a zero rate customs duties.  
 
 
 
Table 9.2:  Rates of Export Duties under Free Trade Agreements  
 
Code of group of goods Description of  group of goods Tariff rate (%) for 
particular country 
4101 10-4101 21,  4103 Raw hides and skins of bovine animals EU, EE, LV, CZ, SK, 
Sl, TR, Hu – 15 
4401 22-4101 40 Other hides and skins of bovine animals EU, CZ, SK, Sl, TR, 
Hu – 15 
 EU - European Union; EE - Estonia;  LV - Latvia; CZ - Czech Republic; SK  - Slovakia; Sl - Slovenia;  TR – 
Turkey;  Hu – Hungary]  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 93 
 
 
 [Table 10:  List of Foodstuffs to be Checked by official Control Authorities under Importation  
Description of products HS Code Controlling 
Institution* 
Meat and edible meat sub-products 02.01-02.08 (except 0206.10.10.0; 
0206.22.10.0; 0206.29.10; 0206.30.10.0; 
0206.41.10.0; 0206.49.10; 0206.80.10.0; 
0206.90.10.0); 0209 (except ex0209.00 
(fresh, chilled or frozen)); 02.10 V 
Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other 
aquatic invertebrates 03.01-03.04 (except 0301.10); 03.05; 
03.06(except ex03.06 (fresh, chilled or 
frozen)); 03.07 (except ex03.07(fresh, chilled or frozen)) V 
Milk and milk products; birds eggs; natural 
honey; edible products of animal origin, not 
elsewhere specified or included 04.01-04.06 (except 0402.29.11.0); 
0407.00-0410.00.00.0 (except 
0408.11.20.0; 0408.19.20.0; 0408.91.20.0; 0408.99.20.0) V 
Guts, bladders and stomachs of animals (other 
than fish), whole and pieces thereof 0504.00.00.0(except ex0504.00.00.0(fresh, 
chilled or frozen)) V 
Edible vegetables and some root crops and 
tuber crops 07.01 (except 0701.10.00.00);  0702.00.00;  
07.03 (except 0703.10.11.0);  07.04 - 
07.09;  07.10; 
07.11-07.12 (except 0712.90.11.0); 
07.13-07.14 (except 0713.10.10.0; 0713.33.10.0; 0713.90.10.0; ex07.14 
(frozen)) HP 
 
 
H 
HP 
Edible fruit and nuts; peel and husk of citrus 
fruit or melons 08.01-08.06 (ex0803.00(fresh); 
ex08.04(fresh); ex08.06(fresh)); 08.07-08.10; 
08.11-08.12; 
08.13;  0814.00.00. (except ex0814.00.00 (frozen)) HP 
 
H 
HP 
H 
Coffee, tea, mate and spices 09 .01-0903.00.00.0 (except positions 
0901.90.10.0); 
09.04-09.08 (except 0904.20.31.0); 09.09-09.10 HP 
 
H 
HP 
Grain  10.01-10.08 
(except these positions: 
1001.90.10.0; 1001.90.91.0 1003.00.10.0; 1005.10; 
1006.10.10.0; 1007.00.10.0; 
1008.30.00.0) ex10.01-10.08 (for fodder) HP 
 
  
 
 
- 
Milled production. malt starch; inulin; wheat gluten 1101.00-11.07 
(except these positions: 
11.05; 1107.20.00.0); 
11.08-1109.00.00.0 
ex1101.00-1109.00.00.0 (for fodder); 
ex11.08 (for the technical  or industrial use, 
except production of foodstuffs) HP 
 
 
H 
- 
- WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 94  
 
 Description of products HS Code Controlling 
Institution* 
Oil seeds and fruits; various corns. seeds and fruits; plants used in industry and medicine; 
straws and fodder 1201.00-12.02 (except1201.00.10.0; 
1202.10.10.0); 
1203.00.00.0-12.10 (except 1204.00.10.0; 
1205.00.10.0; 1206.00.10.0; 1207.10.10.0; 1207.20.10.0; 1207.30.10.0;  
1207.40.10.0; 1207.50.10.0; 1207.60.10.0; 
1207.91.10.0; 1207.92.10.0; 1207.99.10.0; 12.09); 
12.12 
ex1201.00-12.08 (for fodder) HP 
 
 
  
 
  
 
- 
Shellac, gums resins, vegetable saps and extracts 1301.20.00.0; 1302.13.00.0; 
1302.19.30; 1302.20; 
ex1302.31.00.0 (food additive) H 
 
H* 
Animal or vegetable fats, oils and their fractions. edible mixtur es or preparations; 
vegetable or animal waxes 1501.00-1502.00 (except 1501.00.11.0; 
1502.00.10.0) 
15.07-15.15(except these positions: 
1507.10.10.0; 1507.90.10.0; 
1508.10.10.0; 1508.90.10.0; 1511.10.10.0; 1511.90.91.0; 
1512.11.10.0; 1512.19.10.0; 
1512.21.10.0; 1512.29.10.0; 1513.11.10.0; 1513.19.30.0; 
1513.21.11.0; 1513.21.19.0; 
1513.29.30.0; 1514.10.10.0; 1514.90.10.0; 1515.19.10.0; 
1515.21.10.0; 1515.29.10.0; 
1515.30.10.0; 1515.50.11.0; 1515.50.91.0; 1515.90.21.0; 
1515.90.31.0; 1515.90.40.0; 
1515.90.60.0); 1516.10 
1516.20-15.17 (except 1516.20.10.0; 
1516.20.95.0) V 
 
H 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
V 
H 
Meat products, fish or crustaceans, molluscs 
or other aquatic invertebrates 16.01-16.05 V 
Sugar and sugar confectionery 17.01-17.04 (except ex1701.99.10 
(chemical reagent); 
ex1702.11.00.0(chem ical reagent); 
ex1702.30.51.0(chem ical reagent); 
ex1702.50.00.0(chem ical reagent); 
ex1702.90.10.0(chem ical reagent) 
1704.90.55.1) 
ex1704.90.81 (foodstuffs for special 
purpose) ex17.03(for fodder) H 
 
  
 
  
H 
 
- 
Cocoa and Cocoa products 1801.00.00.0; 
18.03-18.06 
(except 1806.31.00.2; 1806.31.00.3; 1806.32.90.2; 1806.32.90.3; 1806.90.60.1; 
1806.90.60.2; 1806.90.60.3; 1806.90.60.4) HP 
H 
V 
Corn, flour, starch or milk products; flour 
confectionery 19.01-19.05 (except 1901.10.00.0; 
1905.90.30.0) H 
Products of vegetables, fruit, nuts and other 
edible parts of plants 20.01-20.09 
(except 20.03; 2005.10.00.0; 2007.10) H 
HP 
H  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 95 
 
 
 Description of products HS Code Controlling 
Institution* 
Various food products 21.01-21.04; 21.06 
(except these positions: 
ex2102.20.19.0 (for fodder); 
ex2102.20.90.0(for fodder) 2104.20.00.0; 2106.10.20.2; 2106.10.80.2; 
2106.90.92.2; 2106.90.98.2; 
2106.10.20.1; 2106.10.80.1; 2106.90.92.1; 2106.90.98.1; 
ex21.06 (food additive)) 
2105.00 H 
 
 
 
H* 
 
 
- 
H* 
V 
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and vinegar 22.01-2209.00 (except 2208.90.69.3) H 
Salt, sulphur, earths and stone, plastering 
materials, lime and cement 2501.00.91.0 H 
Inorganic chemicals; organic and inorganic 
compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth 
metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes ex2803.00; ex2804.21.00.0-2804.40.00.0; 
ex28.06; ex2807.00.10.0; ex2809.20.00.0; 
ex2810.00.90.0; ex28.11; ex28.12; ex2814.20.00.0; ex28.15; ex2816.10.00.0; 
ex28.18; ex28.21; ex2825.90.11.0; 
ex2825.90.19.0; ex2825.90.80.0; ex2827.20.00.0; ex2827.31.00.0; 
ex2827.39.10.0; ex2827.39.90.0; 
ex2832.10.00.0; ex2832.20.00.0; ex2833.11.00.0; ex2833.19.00.0; 
ex2833.22.00.0; ex2833.29; 
ex2834.10.00.0; ex2834.21.00.0; 
ex2834.29.90.0; ex28.35; ex2836.30.00.0; 
ex2836.40.00.0; ex2836.50.00.0; ex2836.99.11.0; ex2836.99.18.0; 
ex2837.20.00.0; ex2839.19.00.0; 
ex2839.90.00.0; ex28.40; ex2842.10.00.0 (food additives) H* 
Organic chemicals ex29.01-ex 2940.00 (food additives) H* 
Pharmaceutical products ex3002.90.5 0.0 (for use in the production 
of foodstuffs) H* 
Tanning or dying extracts; tannins and their 
derivatives; dyes, pigments and other 
colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks. ex3203.00 (food additives or raw 
materials, designed for use in the 
production of foodstuffs); ex32.04(food additives); ex32.06(food additives) H* 
Essential oils, mixtures of flavouring 
substances (resinoids), liquid perfumes, 
cosmetics and toilet preparations ex33.01(food additives); 3302.10(food 
additives) H 
Albumins; modified starches; 
glues; ferments (enzymes) 3501.10.90.0; 3502.11.90.0; 3502.19.90.0; 
3502.20.91.0; 3502.20.99.0; 3502.90.70.0; 3503.00.10.0;  
ex3504.00.00.9 (for the production of 
foodstuffs); ex3505.10.50.0 (food additives); 
ex3505.10.90.0 (food additives) V 
  
 
H* 
 
H* 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 96  
 
 * H - State control agencies under the Ministry of Health Care (Nutrition Centre, etc.) 
 H* - State control agencies under the Ministry of Health Care (Nutrition Centre, etc.), if there is an 
 indication in the suppliers declaration of conformity, that the product is foodstuf f for special purpose, food 
 additive or is used for the production of foodstuffs. 
 V - State Veterinary Service  P - State Plant Protection Service 
 “-” - State control agencies under the Ministry of Health  Care (Nutrition Centre, etc.) do not control these 
 products.]  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 97 
 
 
 [Table 11(a):  List of Products of Animal Origin Subject to Veterinary Inspection  
 
HS Code Description 
0502 Pigs, hogs or boars bristles and hair; badger hair and other brush making hair; waste of 
such bristles or hair 
0503 Horsehair and horsehair waste, whether or not put up as a layer with or without 
supporting material 
0505 Skins and other parts of birds, with their feathers or down, feathers and parts of feathers 
(whether or not with trimmed edges) and down, not further worked than cleaned, 
disinfected or treated for preservation; powder and waste of feathers or parts of feathers 
0506 Bones and horn-cores, unworked, defatted, simply prepared (but not cut to shape), 
treated with acid or degelatinised; powder and waste of these products 
0507 Ivory, tortoise-shell, whalebone and whalebone hair, horns, antlers, hooves, nails, claws 
and beaks, unworked or simply prepared but not cut to shape; powder and waste of these 
products 
0508 Coral and similar materials, unworked or simply prepared but not otherwise worked; 
shells of molluscs, ceustace ans or echinoderms and cuttle -bone, unworked or simply 
prepared but not cut to shape, powder and waste thereof 
0509 Natural sponges of animal origin 
0510 Ambergris, castereum, civet and musk; cantharides; bile, whether or not dried; glands 
and other animal products used in the pr eparation of pharmaceutical products, fresh, 
chilled, frozen or otherwise provisionally preserved 
0511 Animal products not elsewhere specified or included; dead animals of Chapter 1 or 2, 
unfit for human consumption 
0511.10.00 Bovine semen 
 Other: 
 Fish waste 
 Sinews or tendons 
 Bovine embryos 
3501 Casein, caseinates and other casein derivatives; casein glues: 
4101 Raw hides and skins of bovine or equine an imals (fresh, or salted, dried, limed, pickled 
or otherwise preserved, but not tanned, parchment-dressed or further prepared), whether 
or not dehaired or split: 
4102 Raw skins of sheep or lambs (fresh, or salted, dried, limed pickled or otherwise 
preserved, but not tanned, parchment-dressed or further prepared), whether or not with 
wool on or split, other than those excluded by note 1 (c) to this chapter: 
4103 Other raw hides and skins (fresh, or salted, dried, limed, pickled or otherwise preserved, 
but not tanned, parchment-dressed or further pr epared), whether or not  dehaired or split, 
other than those excluded by note 1 (b) or 1 (c) to this chapter: 
4104 Leather of bovine or equine animals, without hair on, other than leather of heading 
No.4108 or 4109: 
4105 Sheep or lamb skin leather, without wool on, other than leather of heading No.4108 or 
4109: 
4106 Goat or kid skin leather, without hair on, other than leather of heading No.4108 or 4109: 
4107 Leather of other animals, without heir on, other than leather of heading No.4108 or 4109:
5101 Wool, fine or coarse animal hair; horsehair yarn and woven fabric: 
5102 Fine or coarse animal hair, not carded or combed: 
5103 Waste of wood or of fine or coarse animal hair, including yarn waste but excluding 
garnetted stock: 
5104 Garnetted stock of wool or of fine or coarse animal hair: 
5105 Wool and fine or coarse animal hair, carded or combed (including combed wool in 
fragments): 
 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 98  
 
 Table 11(b):  Goods of Vegetable Origin Subject to Quarantine Inspection
 
 
HS 
code Description 
06.01 bulbs, tubers, tuberous routs, corms, dormant in growth or in flower, chicory plants and roots 
other than roots of heading No. 12.12* 
06.02 other live plants (including their rots), cuttings and slips, mushroom spawn* 
06.03 cut flowers and flower buds of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, 
dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared* 
06.04 foliage, branches or other parts of plants, without flowers or flower buds, and grasses, mosses 
and lichens, being goods of a kind suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, dyed, bleached, impregnated or otherwise prepared* 
07.01 potatoes, fresh or chilled* 
07.02 tomatoes, fresh or chilled* 
07.03 onions, garlic, shallots, leeks and ot her alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled* 
07.04 cabbages, cauliflowers, ko hlrabi, kale and similar edib le brassicas, fresh or chilled 
07.05 lettuce and chicory fresh or chilled 
07.06 carrots, turnips, salad beetroot, salsify, celer iac, radishes and similar edible roots, fresh or 
chilled* 
07.07 cucumbers and gherkins, fresh or chilled* 
07.08 leguminous vegetables, includ ing unshelled, fresh or chilled* 
07.09 other vegetables, fresh or chilled* 
07.11 vegetables provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur 
water or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption 
07.12 dried vegetables, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared 
07.13 dried leguminous vegetables, unshelle d, whether or not skinned or split* 
07.14 manioc, arrowroot, salep, Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes and similar roots and tubers 
with high starch or inulin content, fresh or dried,  whether or not sliced or in the form of pellets, 
sago pith* 
08.01 coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled* 
08.02 other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled* 
08.03 bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried* 
08.04 dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried* 
08.05 citrus fruit, fresh or dried* 
08.06 grapes, fresh or dried* 
08.07 melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh* 
08.08 apples, pears and quinces, fresh* 
08.09 apricots, cherries, peaches (includi ng nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh* 
08.10 other fruit (berries), fresh* 
08.13 fruit, dried, other than that of headings Nos. 08.01-08.06; mixtures of nuts or dried fruits of this 
Chapter 
09.01 coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffe inated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes 
containing coffee in any proportion 
09.02 tea, whether or not flavoured 
09.03 mate 
09.09 seeds of anise, badian, fennel, coriander, cumin, caraway or juniper* 
09.10 ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), thyme, bay leaves, curry and other spices 
10.01 wheat and meslin* 
10.02 rye* 
10.03 barley* 
10.04 oats* 
10.05 maize (corn)* 
10.06 rice* 
10.07 grain sorghum* 
10.08 buckwheat, millet and canary seed; other cereals*  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 99 
 
 
 HS 
code Description 
11.01 wheat or meslin flour 
11.02 cereal flours other than of wheat or meslin 
11.03 cereal groats, meal and pellets 
11.04 cereal grains otherwise worked (for example, hulled, rolled, flaked, pearled, sliced or kibbled), 
except rice of heading No. 10.06; germ of cereals, whole, rolled, flaked or ground 
11.06 flour and meal of the dried leguminous vegetables of heading No. 07.13, of sago or of roots of 
tubers of heading No. 07.14; flour, meal and powder of the products of Chapter 8 
11.07 malt, whether or not roasted 
12.01 soya beans, whether or not broken* 
12.02 ground-nuts, not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken* 
12.03 Copra 
12.04 linseed, whether or not broken* 
12.05 rape seeds, whether or not broken* 
12.06 sunflower seeds, whether or not broken* 
12.07 other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken* 
12.08 flours and meals of oil seeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard 
12.09 seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing* 
12.10 hop cones, fresh or dried, whether or not ground, powdered or in the form of pellets; lupulin 
12.11 plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits), of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in 
pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purpose, fresh or dried, whether or not cut, 
crushed or powdered 
12.12 locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh or dried, whether or 
not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety ) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified 
or included* 
12.13 cereal straw and husks, unprepared, whether or not chopped, ground, pressed or in the form of 
pellets 
12.14 swedes, mangolds, fodder roots, fodder swedes, hay, lucerne (alfalfa), clover, sainfoin, forage 
kale, lupines, vetches and similar forage products, whether or not in the form of pellets* 
14.01 vegetable materials of a kind used primarily for plaiting (for example, bamboos, rattans, reeds, 
rushes, osier, raffia, cleaned, bleached or dyed cereal straw, and lime bark) 
14.02 vegetable materials of a kind used primarily as stuffing or as padding (for example, kapok, 
vegetable hair and eelgrass), whether or not put up as a layer with or without supporting 
material 
14.03 vegetable materials of a kind used primarily in brooms or in brushes (for example, broomcorn, 
piassava, couchgrass and istle), whether or not in hanks or bundles 
18.01 cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted 
18.02 cocoa shells, husks, skins and other cocoa waste 
20.03 mushrooms and truffles, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid 
23.02 bran, sharps and other residues, whether or not in the form of pellets, derived from the sifting, 
milling or other working of cereals or of leguminous plants  
24.01 unmanufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse* 
27.03 peat (including peat litter), whether or not agglomerated 
44.01 fuel wood, in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms; wood in chips or particles; 
sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or 
similar forms 
44.03 wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared* 
44.04 hoopwood; split poles; piles, pickets and stakes of wood, pointed but not sawn lengthwise; 
wooden sticks, roughly trimmed but not turned, bent or otherwise worked, suitable for the 
manufacture of walking-sticks, umbrellas, tool handles or the like; chipwood and the like 
44.06 railway or tramway sleep ers (cross-ties) of wood 
44.07 wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or finger-
jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 100  
 
 HS 
code Description 
44.09 wood (including stri ps and friezes for parquet flooring, not  assembled) continuously shaped 
(tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, moulded, rounded or the like) along 
any of its edges or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or finger-jointed 
44.13 densified wood, in blocks, plates, strips or profile shapes 
44.15 packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and si milar packings, of wood; cable-drums of wood; 
pallets, box pallets and other load boards, of wood 
45.01 natural cork, raw or simply prepared; waste cork; crushed, granulated or ground cork 
46.01 plaits and similar products of plaiting materials, whether or not assembled into strips; plaiting 
materials, plaits and similar products of plaiting materials, bound together in parallel strands or 
woven, in sheet form, whether or not being finished articles (for example, mats, matting, screens) 
53.01 flax, raw or processed but not spun; flax tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted 
stock) 
53.02 true hemp, raw or processed but not spun; tow and waste of true hemp (including yarn waste 
and garnetted stock) 
97.05 collections and collectors pieces of zoologi cal, botanical, mineralogical , anatomical, historical, 
archaeological, paleontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest  
 
*  All these goods of vegetable origin are imported to the Republic of Lithuania in line with the Article 5 of  the "Regulations of import and export of goods of vegetable origin to and from the Republic of Lithuania 
 and their transit through the territory of the Republic of Lithuania", i.e. it is obligatory to present to the 
 customs the phytosanitary certificate issued by the Vegetable Quarantine or Vegetable Protection Service 
 of the exporting state. While importing the goods of ve getable origin marked in the appendix with a star 
 (*) one must additionally present to the customs the quarantine permit for import issued by the State Plant 
 Protection Service of the Republic of Lithuania.
]  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 101 
 
 
 [Table 12:  Status of Lithuanian Legislation to meet WTO TRIPS Requirements  
 
TRIPS Agreement Laws and other legal acts addressing the 
subject-matter Draft legislation to address subject-matter 
Part II, Section 1.  
Copyright and 
Related Rights - Law on Copyright and Related Rights 
of 18 May 1999; 
- Law on the Legal Protection of 
Computer Programs and Databases of 
30 January 1996, which has been 
incorporated into the Law on Copyright and Related Rights; 
- Membership in the Berne Convention 
since 1994; 
- Membership in the Rome Convention 
since 1999 
- Membership in the Geneva 
Convention since 1999;  
Part II, Section 2. 
Trademarks - Law on Trademarks and Service 
Marks of 3 June 1993, as amended 
and supplemented on 8 November, 1994 and 13 November, 1997; 
- Membership in the Paris Convention 
from 1994; 
- Membership from 1996 in the Nice 
Agreement (1957) Concerning the 
International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of 
Registration of Marks;  
- Membership from 1997 
(15 November) in the Protocol 
Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International 
Registration of Marks; 
- Membership from April 1998 in the 
Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) (1994); 
- new Law on Competition of 23 March 
1999 includes provisions on geographical indications;  - amendment to the Law on 
Trademarks and Service  Marks to 
include measures which are prohibited to use in connection with 
geographical indications (terms as 
"kind", "style", "like", etc.) (in the course of 2000);  
- amendment to procedures followed 
by the State Patent Bureau to certify a mark as well-known (in the course 
of 2000); 
Part II, Section 3. Geographical 
Indications - new Law on Competition of 23 March 
1999; - see previous section; 
 
Part II, Section 4. 
Industrial Design - Law on Industrial Design of 
4 July 1995; 
- Membership in the Paris Convention 
from 1994; 
- Law of Amendment of Article 5 of the 
Law on Industrial Design of 10 May 
2000;  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 102  
 
 TRIPS Agreement Laws and other legal acts addressing the 
subject-matter Draft legislation to address subject-matter 
Part II, Section 5. 
Patents - Patent Law of 18 January 1994, as 
amended and supplemented on 8 
November 1994, 9 and 23 December 
1997, and 15 June 2000;  
- Law on the Protection of Plant 
Varieties and Seed Cultivation of 
17 September 1996, as amended and supplemented on 10 June, 1997; 
- Membership in the Paris Convention 
from 1994; 
- Membership in the Patent 
Cooperation Treaty from 1994; 
- Membership in the Budapest Treaty 
on the International Recognition of 
the Deposit of Microorganism for the 
Purposes of the Patent Procedure from 
May 1998;  
Part II, Section 6. 
Layout Designs of 
Integrated Circuits - Law on the Legal Protection of 
Topographies and Semiconductor 
Products of 16 June 1998  
Part II, Section 7. 
Protection of 
Undisclosed 
Information - new Law on Competition of 
23 March 1999;  
Part II, Section 8. 
Control of 
Anti-competitive 
Practices in Contractual Licences - partially new Law on Competition of 
23 March 1999;  
Part III, Section 2. 
Civil and 
Administrative 
Procedures and Remedies - Civil Code of Lithuania; 
- Code of Civil Process of Lithuania; 
- Code of Administrative Infringements 
(Article 214(10) from 1996); 
- new Law on Competition of 23 March 
1999; 
- Law on Trademarks and Service 
Marks of 3 June 1993; 
- Law on Amendments and Supplement 
to the Code of Administrative 
Infringements (improvements); 
- Law on Copyright and Related Rights 
of 18 May 1999  
Part III, Section 3. 
Provisional 
Measures - Law on Copyright and Related Rights 
of 18 May 1999 -  
Part III, Section 4. 
Special Requirements 
Related to Border 
Measures - Law on Trademarks and Service 
Marks of 3 June 1993 (only on trademarks and service marks); - draft law on the protection of 
intellectual property for imported and exported goods (in the course of 
2000);  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 103 
 
 
 TRIPS Agreement Laws and other legal acts addressing the 
subject-matter Draft legislation to address subject-matter 
Part III, Section 5. 
Criminal Procedures - Criminal Code of Lithuania (Articles 
35, 142 and 308) with amendments of 
20 April 2000; 
- Code of Criminal Procedure of 
Lithuania (Articles 37, 126 and 143 
with amendments) of 20 April 2000; -  
] 
 WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 104  
 
  
 
APPENDIX
 
  
ACCESSION OF LITHUANIA
 
  
Draft Decision
 
 
 
 The General Council,  
 Having regard
 to the results of the negotiations direct ed towards the establishment of the terms 
of accession of the Republic of Lithuania to the Marrakesh Agreement Esta blishing the World Trade 
Organization and having prepared a Prot ocol for the Accession of Lithuania, 
  Decides
, in accordance with Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World 
Trade Organization, that the Republic of Lith uania may accede to th e Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organization on the terms set out in the said Protocol.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 105 
 
 
 PROTOCOL OF ACCESSION OF LITHUANIA  
TO THE MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING  
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
 
Draft  
 
 The World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO"), pursuant to the approval 
of the General Council of the WTO accorded under Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement 
Establishing the World Trade Organiza tion (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO Agreement"), and the 
Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as "Lithuania"),  
 
 Taking note  of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of Lithuania to the WTO in 
document WT/ACC/LTU/... (herei nafter referred to as th e "Working Party Report"), 
  Having regard
 to the results of the negotiations on the accession of Lithuania to the WTO, 
 
 Agree  as follows: 
 
Part I - General  
 
1. Upon entry into force of this Protocol, Lith uania accedes to the WTO Agreement pursuant to 
Article XII of that Agreement and thereby becomes a Member of the WTO.  2. The WTO Agreement to which Lithuania accedes  shall be the WTO Agreement as rectified, 
amended or otherwise modified by such legal instrume nts as may have entered into force before the date 
of entry into force of this Protocol.  This Protoc ol, which shall include the commitments referred to in 
paragraph [185] of the Working Party Report, sha ll be an integral part of the WTO Agreement. 
 
3. Except as otherwise provided for in the pa ragraphs referred to in paragraph [185] of the 
Working Party Report, those obligations in the Mu ltilateral Trade Agreements annexed to the WTO 
Agreement that are to be implemente d over a period of time starting with the entry into force of that 
Agreement shall be implemented by Lithuania as if  it had accepted that Agreement on the date of its 
entry into force. WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
Page 106  
 
 4. Lithuania may maintain a measure inconsistent  with paragraph 1 of Ar ticle II of the GATS 
provided that such a measure is recorded in the list of  Article II Exemptions annexed to this Protocol and 
meets the conditions of the Annex to the GATS on Article II Exemptions. 
 
Part II - Schedules
 
 
5. The Schedules annexed to this Protocol shall become the Schedule of Concessions and 
Commitments annexed to the Genera l Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinafter referred to as 
the "GATT 1994") and the Schedule of Specific Co mmitments annexed to th e General Agreement on 
Trade in Services (hereinafter referred to as "GATS") relating to Lithuania.  The staging of concessions and commitments listed in the Schedules shall be implemented as specified in the relevant parts of the 
respective Schedules. 
 6. For the purpose of the reference in paragraph 6( a) of Article II of the GATT 1994 to the date of 
that Agreement, the applicable date in respect of the Schedules of Con cessions and Commitments 
annexed to this Protocol shall be the date  of entry into force of this Protocol. 
 
Part III - Final Provisions
 
  
7. This Protocol shall be open for acceptance, by signature or otherwise, by Lithuania until 
[1 May 2001].  8. This Protocol shall enter into force on th e thirtieth day following the day of its acceptance. 
 
9. This Protocol shall be deposited with the Dire ctor-General of the WTO.  The Director-General 
of the WTO shall promptly furnish a certified copy of this Protocol and a notification of acceptance 
thereto pursuant to paragraph 7 to eac h Member of the WTO and Lithuania. 
 
10. This Protocol shall be regist ered in accordance with  the provisions of Article 102 of the Charter 
of the United Nations.  11. Done at Geneva this ... day of  .... two thousa nd ......, in a single copy in the English, French and 
Spanish languages each text being authentic, except that a Schedule annexed hereto may specify that it 
is authentic in only one or more of these languages.  WT/ACC/SPEC/LTU/8/Rev.7 
 Page 107 
 
 
  
 
ANNEX  
SCHEDULE …….- LITHUANIA  
 
Part I - Goods  
[WT/ACC/LTU/../Add.1] 
 
Part II - Services  
[WT/ACC/LTU/../Add.2] 
 
[to be completed] 
   
__________