What are the differences and similarities between business forms?

  • Minimum number of participants: 1 (member)
  • Maximum number of participants: 10 (members)
  • Minimum capital level: No capital requirement
  • Setting up: conventional or electronic
  • Founders: private individuals
  • Civil liability of a legal person: limited civil liability
  • Decision-making (voting) principle: 1 participant 1 vote. It will be possible to provide in the constitutive document (rules) for a different procedure for the allocation of votes among the participants if the MB has a meeting of participants and a manager
  • Accounting (legal framework): Simplified accounting and financial reporting requirements would be introduced. Law on Accounting of the Republic of Lithuania, Law on Financial Reporting of the Republic of Lithuania
  • Capital and contributions: the capital required for the operation of the MB would be made up of contributions from the participants. The contribution could be money or other economically measurable assets owned by the participant. The value of the participants’ contributions would be determined by agreement between the participants
  • Profit distribution: the members of the MB could distribute profits both for the MB’s financial year and for a period shorter than the financial year
  • Bodies of the legal person: this would allow the founders (participants) of the MB to choose between two structures of the MB’s organs, where the MB consists of (1) a meeting of the MB’s participants, which is at the same time the MB’s governing body; (2) a meeting of the MB’s participants and the MB’s CEO. In the absence of a separate single governing body, the manager, the meeting of members could be the governing body of the MB.
  • Minimum number of participants: 1 (owner)
  • Maximum number of participants: 1 owner
  • Minimum capital level: No capital requirement
  • Setting up: conventional or electronic
  • Founders: Individual person
  • Civil liability of a legal person: unlimited civil liability (if the assets of the sole proprietorship are insufficient to meet its obligations, the owner of the sole proprietorship is liable for the obligations of the enterprise with all its assets)
  • Decision-making (voting) principle: Decisions are taken independently by the owner
  • Accounting (legal regulation): the Law on Accounting of the Republic of Lithuania, the Law on Financial Reporting of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania (Article 2(2) of the Law), the Order of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania of 4 February 2005 No. 1K-040 on the Approval of the Rules for the Accounting of Legal Persons with Unlimited Civil Liability, the Accounting Standard for Business Accounting No. 36 on the Accounting and Financial Reporting by Legal Persons with Unlimited Civil Liability
  • Capital and contributions: The assets of the enterprise comprise: assets transferred to the ownership of the sole proprietorship and assets acquired in the name of the sole proprietorship
  • Profit distribution: all profits of a sole proprietorship are distributed to the owner
  • Bodies of the legal person: a sole proprietorship has a single-person management body – the head of the sole proprietorship. The owner of the sole proprietorship is also the sole management body of the sole proprietorship – the head of the sole proprietorship must have a general meeting of shareholders and a sole management body – the head of the company.
  • Minimum number of participants: 1 (shareholder)
  • Maximum number of participants: 249 (shareholders)
  • Minimum capital: At least EUR 2500
  • Setting up: conventional or electronic
  • Founders: individuals or legal entities
  • Civil liability of a legal person: limited civil liability
  • Decision-making (voting) principle: 1 share 1 vote (except for exceptions provided for by law)
  • Accounting (legal framework): the Law on Accounting of the Republic of Lithuania, the Law on Financial Reporting of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania, the Law on Consolidated Financial Reporting of Groups of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania, Corporate Accounting Standards, International Accounting Standards (optionally applicable)
  • Capital and contributions: the share capital is divided into parts called shares. The shares of an LLC may be paid for in cash and/or in kind contributions owned by the person paying for the shares
  • Allocation of profits: after approving the annual accounts, the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders must allocate the company’s distributable profits (losses).
  • Bodies of the legal person: There may be a collegial supervisory body, the Supervisory Board, and a collegial management body, the Management Board.