Official Translation Official Translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON DUTY-FREE SHOPS November 14, 1996. No I - 1614 (as amended by 2 July 1997) Vilnius ARTICLE 1. Purpose of the Law 1. This Law shall strive to improve services for the passengers travelling on international routes and promote the export of goods manufactured in Lithuania. 2. The Law shall establish the procedure of the opening, activities, supervision and control of duty-free shops. 3. Should the international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania establish other requirements for duty-free shops than those stipulated by this Law, the provisions of international agreements shall apply. Article 2. The Basic Concepts Used in the Law 1. Duty-Free Shop denotes a shop located at an international airport, international seaport, border-crossing point of the Republic of Lithuania (amended 2 July 1997) supervised by the customs office, where passengers en route from the Republic of Lithuania to foreign countries, may purchase goods free of import and export duty and taxes. It shall also be permitted to trade in goods, delivered to the duty-free shop free of import and export duties and taxes, on boats and aircraft registered in the Republic of Lithuania, which are engaged in passenger transport along international routes. 2. Passenger denotes a natural person not having the status of an economic entity, departing from the Republic of Lithuania, arriving there and also, transiting the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. 3. The Customs Territory of the Republic of Lithuania denotes the territory of the Republic of Lithuania adjoining the customs border of the Republic of Lithuania, with the exception of instances whereby, the international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania shall stipulate otherwise. 4. The Customs Border of the Republic of Lithuania denotes the boundary of the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania, which coincides with the state boundary of the Republic of Lithuania, except in instances whereby, the international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania shall stipulate otherwise. 5. Duty-Free Shop Area denotes that part of the customs border territory which houses the duty-free shop sales room (s), warehouse (s), and auxiliary facilities, or only warehouse (
- s)and auxiliary facilities, from which the goods are supplied for trade on ships and aircraft. (amended 2 July 1997) 6. Supervision by the Customs Office denotes the entire spectrum of the measures which shall be applied by the customs office in implementing the laws and other legal acts, for implementation whereof it shall be liable. 7. Lithuanian Goods are the goods, freely circulating within the customs territory of Lithuania, i.e., the goods which may be sold within the area of the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania, without the application of any measures of customs supervision to them and also, the goods supervised by the customs office which due to their special designation, are either partly or totally duty-free of import customs or taxes. 8. Non-Lithuanian goods are the goods which do not hold the status of Lithuanian goods. 9. Non-returnable export denotes the customs procedure whereby, in the course of its application, Lithuanian goods are removed from the Republic of Lithuania Customs Territory, or brought into a duty-free shop, functioning within the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania. 10. Customs transit denotes a customs procedure whereby, in the course of its application, non-Lithuanian duty-free and tax-free goods, are moved from one customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania to another. 11. Import customs and taxes denotes the customs and other taxes, that are being exacted (paid) for imported goods, or in connection with import, with the exception of the compensation for services rendered. 12. Export customs and taxes denotes customs and other taxes, exacted (paid) for exported goods, or in connection with export, excepting compensation for services rendered. 13. Customs inspection denotes the inspection of goods, document appropriateness and validity, accounting records and other documents of enterprises, transport means, inspection of person (passenger) baggage and other items, testing and other similar customs activities, performed in order to ascertain, whether the laws and other legal acts, for the implementation whereof the customs office is liable, are being complied with. ARTICLE 3. The Establishment of Duty-Free Shop 1. A duty-free shop (further- shop) may be established by all types of enterprises, registered according to the requirements of the Law on the Register of Enterprises, which have obtained a license issued by the Government or a state institution authorised by it. Only the Government may issue a license to establish a duty-free shop at the state border crossing point of the Republic of Lithuania (amended 2 July 1997), 2. The license to establish a shop shall be issued by public tender, except in instances whereby the owner (manager) of the ship (
- s)or aircraft, shall establish the shop at an international seaport or international airport and trade in the goods delivered to it aboard the boat (
- s)or aircraft belonging to him. (amended 2 July 1997) 3. The Government shall establish the procedure and conditions of the public tender and the conditions of issuance, re-registration and revocation of permits to establish shops (amended 2 July 1997). 4. A stamp tax shall be paid, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on the Stamp Tax and Government resolutions, to obtain the license to establish and re-register (amended 2 July 1997) a shop. 5. The enterprise which has obtained the license to establish a shop, must submit to the customs office the guarantee established by the Government, or its authorised institution. 6. The enterprise shall have the right to establish a bonded customs warehouse, designated for the storage of shop goods. 7. The shop area must be separated from the rest of the customs territory area of the Republic of Lithuania. The questions concerning area separation, construction of the buildings and other structures contained within the area, equipping of the premises, use, protection plans and others, with the construction and equipping of other buildings must be co-ordinated by the Government or, its authorised state institution with the Department of Customs at the Ministry of Finance (further - Department of Customs), with other state institutions and city (regional) governments. 8. The activity of the shop shall be interrupted, upon expiration of the term of validity of the license, or when the Government or state institution authorised by it, shall revoke the license to establish the shop. 9. Upon the joining of the Customs Union, by the Republic of Lithuania, the duty-free shops located at the state border crossing points with states belonging to the Customs Union, shall lose their duty-free shop status, and the provisions of this law shall not be applied to them. (amended 2 July 1997) ARTICLE 4. The Activity of the Shop 1. A shop located at an international airport and international seaport, at the Republic of Lithuania state border-crossing point ( amended 2 July 1997) shall sell duty-free and tax-free (excise, value-added) import and export goods to passengers departing from the Republic of Lithuania. 2. Import and export duty-free and tax-free (excise, value-added tax) goods delivered to a duty-free shop, aboard a ship or aircraft, registered in the Republic of Lithuania, that carries passengers along international travel routes, shall be sold to passengers departing from or arriving in the Republic of Lithuania. 3. If it is planned to sell in the shop goods, the trade whereof shall be licensed, the enterprise which has established the shop, must obtain a license issued, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government. 4. The Government or a state institution authorised by it, shall establish the requirements of the assortment of goods, and may also establish the quantity limit (natural or value equivalent) of the goods to be sold to one passenger. 5. Upon establishment, by the Government or its authorised State institution, of the limit amount of the goods to be sold to one passenger, the shop shall mark on each passenger ticket or on a departure document, the amount of the goods sold. The method of marking must be co-ordinated with the customs office. 6. The sale of goods from shop warehouses and auxiliary premises shall be prohibited. 7. Purchasers may pay for the goods in Lithuanian litas or foreign currency. 8. The cash register receipt, issued to the purchaser must indicate, in addition to the cash register receipt requisites indicated by the Law on the Principles of Accounting, the destination country of the passenger, ticket (or flight) number, and if travelling by private vehicle, the first five digits of its licence plate number. 9. Should the goods be sold to an individual who does not have the right to buy at this shop, or should a shortage (surplus) of goods be discovered, in the course of inventory at the shop, the enterprise which has been issued a license to establish the shop, shall pay all the customs duties and taxes stipulated with regard to these goods. 10. The enterprise which has established the shop, must assure the protection of the duty-free shop area and provide suitable working conditions for customs officers. 11. The work routine of the shop must be co-ordinated with the customs office. 12. The enterprise which had established the shop, must ensure the observance of laws and other legal acts regulating the activities of other trade enterprises. ARTICLE 5. The Supplying of Goods to the Shop Area, Their Storage, Release for Sale and Removal from This Area 1. Non-Lithuanian goods shall be transported to the shop across the customs territory of Lithuania, by applying the customs transit procedure. 2. Non-Lithuanian goods delivered to a shop must be submitted to the customs office and declared in accordance with the established procedure, as goods which are to be released for free circulation, to which import customs duty and taxes shall not be applied, since these goods are designated to be sold in a duty-free shop. 3. Lithuanian goods delivered to the shop must be submitted to the customs office and be declared according to the established procedure, for the non-returnable export customs proceedings, as goods for which export customs and taxes shall not be applied, since these goods are designated to be sold in a duty-free shop. 4. The goods delivered to the shop are issued to the sales room, ships and aircraft, which may trade in these goods and be returned from there, under customs supervision. The movement of goods indicated above, shall be registered according to the procedure established by the Customs Office. 5. The goods which shall be transported from the shop to the remaining part of the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania or abroad (excepting those taken out by travellers), must be submitted in accordance with the established procedure, in order to be registered in the selected customs processing. 6. Trade in the following goods shall be prohibited at the shop: 1) goods which are banned from being brought in, taken out and sold in the Republic of Lithuania; 2) goods, the trade whereof is controlled by state institutions ( if the permission of these institutions has not been obtained). 7. The shop’s books shall be kept according to the procedure established by laws and other legal acts. The goods delivered to stores must be immediately recorded. 8. The Government or its authorised institution, shall have the right to set additional requirements of shop bookkeeping or the standard bookkeeping procedure of a duty-free shop. ARTICLE 6. Supervision and Control of the Shop 1. The goods delivered to the shop and kept therein, shall be supervised until such time, as they are taken out of the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania, destroyed, transferred free of charge, to the state or, having paid the established import duty and taxes, shall be permitted free circulation within the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania. 2. All goods delivered to or removed from the shop (except those removed by travellers) must be submitted to a customs inspection. 3. The Lithuanian goods, that are allowed free circulation, in instances stipulated in part 1 of this Article which, prior to delivery to the shop, have enjoyed free circulation within the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania and which did not have customs supervision measures applied to them, shall not have import duty levied upon them. If these goods shall be transported abroad (except for those taken by travellers), stipulated export duty and taxes shall be applied to them. 4. The Customs Office shall have the right to: 1) establish the procedure and conditions of the delivery of goods to the shop and their removal therefrom; 2) supervise preparation of goods for the sale thereof; 3) not to permit delivery to the shop, or the removal therefrom of goods, if the conditions stipulated for supply or removal thereof fail to be observed; 4) require that the shop premises be locked with two locks (one of them a customs office lock); 5) additionally seal the shop premises with customs office seals; 6) constantly inspect the shop premises and area; 7) inventory the goods kept within the shop area; 8) manage shop records; 9) implement other shop supervision measures established by laws and other legal acts. 5. The Customs Department, the State Tax Inspectorate and, according to their competence, other state governing institutions shall implement control of the shops. 6. The Customs Office shall establish the procedure of the admittance of persons (except those who are passengers departing the Republic of Lithuania for abroad) into duty-free shop area. ARTICLE 7. The Liability for Violation of This Law 1. Natural and legal persons, in violation of this Law, shall be held liable in accordance with the procedure established by laws. 2. Decisions by state institutions, adopted while implementing this law, may be appealed in court. ARTICLE 8. The Coming into Effect and Implementation of the Law 1. This Law shall come into effect from March 31, 1997. 2. Up to the day of the coming into effect of this Law, the licenses issued to enterprises, to establish shops (including among their number, those located at state border-crossing points), shall be re-registered according to the procedure established by the Government.. All of the provisions of the Law on Duty-Free shops shall be applied to these shops. (amended 2 July 1997) I promulgate this law passed by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS