Official translation
In short
This law regulates the creation, operation, and dissolution of public and private companies in the Republic of Lithuania, defining their structure, management, and the rights and duties of their shareholders.
What it regulates
- The establishment, reorganisation, and liquidation of public and private companies.
- The management and activities of these companies.
- The rights and obligations of company shareholders.
- The formation and capital requirements for public and private companies.
Who it concerns
- Natural and legal persons, the state, or municipalities who wish to establish or become shareholders in a company in the Republic of Lithuania.
- Incorporators who are involved in setting up a company.
Key points
- A company is a legal person with limited liability, meaning it is liable for its obligations only to the extent of its assets, and shareholders are liable only for the amounts they must pay for their shares.
- The authorised capital of a public company must be at least 100,000 litas, and its shares can be publicly traded.
- The authorised capital of a private company must be at least LTL 10,000, it must limit its shareholders to 50, and its shares generally cannot be publicly traded.
- Incorporators must sign an incorporation agreement (or act if there's one person) specifying details like incorporators' names, company name, share details, and liability.
- Special purpose companies, vital for the state, must have at least 2/3 of all votes held by a state governance institution.
Įstatymo tekstas
Official translation Official translation REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA COMPANY LAW 5 July 1994 No. I-528 (As amended by 19 March 1998 No. VIII-666) Vilnius CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Purpose o
Article 2of this Law.
If during the time period set for the subscription for shares not all shares are subscribed for and the amount of the authorised capital is not reduced, the public company may not be registered. In this case the contributions of the subscribers must be returned to them without any deductions within 15 days. All the incorporators shall be jointly liable for the return of the contributions.
- Within 60 days of the end of the subscription period or the last day of the subscription for shares (in the event that all shares are subscribed for prior to the fixed date) the incorporators must call the statutory general meeting. If the general meeting is not called within the above period, all the subscribers shall be relieved of their obligations to the company and shall have the right to request full return of their contributions for the shares within 15 days.
- The provisions established by this Law for the general meeting shall apply to the statutory general meeting. The statutory general meeting shall also be attended by the incorporators of the company. If there is no quorum, a repeat meeting shall be called.
- The statutory general meeting shall approve the statutory report of the company and the transactions concluded by the incorporators, shall elect the managing bodies, the inspector or auditor, may amend or supplement the Articles of Association, settle other issues within the competence of the general meeting.
- The first Supervisory Board or the Board of the company shall be elected for no longer than 2 business years.
- Remuneration for the incorporation of the company or compensation of the incorporation expenses may be paid to the incorporators or to third persons provided that civil contracts have been concluded with them and the incorporation costs are substantiated by documents. Disputes between the incorporators, shareholders and third persons concerning the compensation of incorporation costs and remuneration for the incorporation shall be settled by court. Article
- The Company's Articles of Association 1 The Articles of Association of the company constitute the legal document governing the conduct of the company's business.
- The Articles of Association must state: 1) the name of the company; 2) the company's registered office; 3) the objects of the company and types of business activities; 4) the procedure for transferring registered shares to the ownership of other persons in the cases specified in Paragraph 7 of Article 34 of this Law; 5) the amount of the authorised capital and its composition according to the classes of shares; 6) the number of shares according to class, their par value and the rights they carry; 7) procedure of payment for shares; 8) procedure for exchanging shares of one type for shares of another type; 9) procedure for electing the Supervisory Board, the Board and the inspector, and their respective powers; 10) the powers of the general meeting, the procedure for calling the meetings and their voting rules; 11) the rules for the distribution of profit; 12) the procedure for communicating the notices of the company; and 13) the company reorganisation and liquidation procedure.
- The Articles of Association of the company may also contain other rules that are in conformity with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
- If the conduct of business activities provided for in the company's Articles of Association is regulated by other laws of the Republic of Lithuania, said laws must be complied with when drafting the company's Articles of Association.
- The Articles of Association of the company must be signed by all incorporators and the signatures must be certified: in the case of natural persons - by a notary, in the case of legal persons, when the signature belongs to the head of the enterprise or to the authorised person - by a seal. The procedure established for natural persons shall apply to a foreign legal person who does not posses a seal. Article
- Registration of the Articles of Association and the Company
- Prior to offering their shares to the public for subscription or purchase, companies must register their Articles of Association according to the procedure established by the Law on the Register of Enterprises.
- In the event that the general meeting amends or supplements the company's Articles of Association, said amendments must be registered. Amendments to the Articles of Association shall be effective only upon their registration.
- The company must be registered in the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania within 6 months of the day of conclusion of the incorporation agreement. If the company is not registered within the prescribed time period, it shall be deemed not to have been incorporated and the contributions of persons to the company's authorised capital must be returned without any deductions within 15 days of the day of expiry of the period prescribed for the registration. In the event of failure to register the company because of reasons not related to the activities of the company's incorporators or shareholders, the incorporators may appeal the actions of the registrar in court.
- The company shall be registered according to the procedure established by the Law on the Register of Enterprises after the shares have been subscribed for, initial installments have been collected and the statutory general meeting has been held. The sum of the collected initial installments must be not less than the amount of the minimum authorised capital as established in Article 2 of this Law, of which sum pecuniary contributions must constitute no less than 1/
- The company shall acquire the rights of legal person as of the day of its registration. Article
- Affiliate of the Company
- The company shall have the right to establish affiliates. Affiliates shall be established on the resolution of the company's Board. The number of affiliates of the company shall not be limited.
- The affiliate is a division of the company possessing a separate registered office. The affiliate shall not be a legal person and shall use the name of the company as a legal person. It shall operate in compliance with the Articles of Association of the company and within the powers which are granted by the Board and which must be specified in the company's Articles of Association.
- The assets of the company's affiliate shall be accounted in the company's balance sheet and in a separate balance sheet of the affiliate.
- Affiliates of the company shall be registered in accordance with the procedure established in the Law on the Register of Enterprises. Article
- Reorganisation of the Company
- Reorganisation is transformation of the company as a legal person without the liquidation procedure. The successors to all the rights and liabilities of reorganised companies shall be the companies newly incorporated in the process of reorganisation and companies continuing to operate after reorganisation as going concerns.
- Companies may be reorganised in the following ways: 1) by merger or consolidation of companies; 2) by division of companies; 3) by changing the type or status of the company.
- Reorganisation by merger or consolidation of companies shall be carried out by: 1) joining the companies (one or several) which cease their existence as separate legal entities to the Company which continues its business; or 2) combining companies which terminate their existence as legal entities to form a newly created company.
- Reorganisation of companies by way of company division shall be carried out by: 1) parcelling out the company which terminates its activities to other companies which continue their business; or 2) organising new companies from the company which terminates its activities; 3) separating a unit from the company which continues its business and merging the separated unit with another company or setting up a new company from it.
- When the type of the company is being changed, it may be reorganised: 1) from a private company into a public company by registering its shares with the Securities Commission; or 2) from a public company into a private company by cancelling the registration of its share issue with the Securities Commission.
- Reorganisation by changing the status of the company means cancelling of the special purpose status of the company by amending its Articles of Association.
- The companies under reorganisation must prepare a plan of reorganisation, which must state: 1) the name, type and registered office of each company under reorganisation; 2) valuation of assets of each Company under reorganisation, performed in the manner prescribed by the Government; 3) assumption of liabilities, including debts to the state social insurance fund budget, also the amounts due, including penalties and default interest, calculated by the tax administrator's officers and other state institutions prior to the removal from the register, in the manner prescribed by law, of the enterprise under reorganisation, and the deadline for assuming said liabilities; 4) the criteria and rules for dividing the shareholders and shares of the companies which are connected with the reorganisation among the companies which will continue as going concerns after the reorganisation. If the shares are distributed for the companies which will continue as going concerns after the reorganisation not in proportion to their authorised capital, the procedure providing each shareholder with the possibility to choose companies in which they desire to hold shares must be established in the plan. If prior to the company’s reorganisation the state or the municipality held shares therein carrying 2/3 (3/4) of the total number of votes or in excess of 1/2 or 1./3 (1/4) of all votes, then upon its reorgatisation according to the method specified in subparagraph 2 of paragraph 4 hereof the state or the municipality must own in all the newly set up companies shares carrying accordingly not less then 2/3 (3/4) of all votes or over 1/2 (1/4) of all votes; 5) the rate at which the shares held by shareholders shall be exchanged for new shares taking into account the difference in price; the number of new shares according to class and their par value; 6) the difference between the price of shares held by the shareholders and shares received by them after the reorganisation which shall be paid out to them in cash. The payment in cash may not exceed 10% of the par value of shares; 7) the procedure and time period for issuing new shares; 8) property and non-property rights of holders of shares and other securities after company reorganisation and the time period of acquisition thereof; 9) the projected business indices of the companies which will be going concerns after the reorganisation; and 10) the rights accorded to the managing bodies, inspectors and experts of companies during their reorganisation period.
- The Articles of Association of each of the companies which will function after the reorganisation must be drafted together with the reorganisation plan.
- The Board of each company under reorganisation shall make a comprehensive written evaluation of the plan of reorganisation and shall also assign one or more experts to conduct an examination of the plan. The experts shall be entitled to obtain any related information from the companies under reorganisation. Prior to the announcement of the general meeting, the experts shall submit to the Board the Examination Act which must contain findings concerning the valuation of property, the terms and conditions of loan extension and changes in the price of shares. During the reorganisation of the company in the way specified in Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 2 hereof valuation of property in the reorganisaton plan and examination of the plan by experts shall not be required unless requested by the shareholders by a simple majority vote.
- Every company must make a public announcement and notify each creditor in writing of its projected reorganisation not later than 30 days prior to the general meeting which has the consideration of issue of the company reorganisation on its agenda. During the stated period every shareholder shall have the right to familiarise himself with the company's plan of reorganisation, its evaluation, business indices of the companies under reorganisation and the Examination Acts as well as making copies thereof.
- The resolution to reorganise the company may be passed and the plan of reorganisation and the draft Articles of Association may be at the same time approved by shareholders possessing at least 2/3 of votes of every class of shares. The approved reoganisation plan and the minutes of the general meeting which approved the plan must be delivered to the registrar of the register of enterprises within 15 days from the day of the meeting which approved the plan. The general meetings of shareholders of companies which have been given loans, warranties or guarantees, with the exception of banks, shall have no right to adopt resolutions on the reorganisation of companies without obtaining a written consent of all entities who have granted the loans, warranties or guarantees, or their authorised representatives. The economic entity which granted the loan, warranty or guarantee must file its consent or objection to the company’s reorganisation within 30 days of the receipt of the company’s reorganiastion notice.
- The company against which bankruptcy proceedings have been instituted or with respect to which extrajudicial bankruptcy procedure is applied may be reorganised in accordance with the procedure established by the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the Republic of Lithuania.
- Public announcement of the company's reorganisation shall be made at leastthree times with an at least a 2-month interval between the announcements, or each shareholder and creditor shall be given a written notice thereof. The company must provide additional guarantees to every creditor who requests them.
- The Articles of Association of companies which are going concerns after the reorganisation shall be registered after the first general meeting. The registration of the reorganised companies shall be regulated by the Law on the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania. For the purpose of registration of the company or its Articles of Association after reorganisation the minutes of the general meeting which approved the reorganisation plan shall be presented instead of the incorporation agreement. Article
- Liquidation of the Company
- The company may be liquidated on the following grounds: 1) the time period of the company's duration as specified in the Articles of Association has expired; 2) the court or the creditors' meeting has passed a resolution to liquidate a bankrupt company. In this case the company shall be liquidated in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Enterprise Bankruptcy; 3) the court has passed a decision to liquidate the company for the violations of law established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania; and 4) the general meeting has passed a corresponding resolution (provided that no bankruptcy proceedings have been instituted against the company).
- The institution or the managing body which takes a decision, according to the procedure prescribed by law, to liquidate the company shall appoint, remove from office or replace the company liquidator (administrator of the company in liquidation). If the company is put in liquidation in the manner prescribed by this Law, the managing bodies of the company, except for the general meeting, shall be divested, as of the day of the liquidator's appointment, of the powers to manage the company. The right to call the general meeting according to the procedure established in Article 21 of this Law shall be vested in the liquidator, the court or the holders of shares carrying over 1/2 of all votes.
- The liquidator shall, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on the Register of Enterprises, notify the registrar who registered the company of the alteration of the company's status and shall furnish the registrar with the information concerning the liquidator. After the company acquires the status of the company in liquidation, the words "in liquidation" shall precede its name.
- The company in liquidation may conclude only transactions which are related to its liquidation as well as those transactions which are provided in the liquidation resolution.
- The liquidation of the company shall be announced publicly not less than three times at no shorter than 2-month intervals or each shareholder or creditor shall be personally notified thereof in writing.
- The distribution of the company's assets to the shareholders may be carried out only upon the expiry of two months after the day of the third public announcement of the liquidation of the company or of the personal notification of each shareholder and creditor.
- In the event of disputes concerning the payment of the company's debts, the assets of the company may be distributed to the shareholders only after the dispute has been settled in court and settlements with the creditors have been effected. Disputes concerning the mortgaged assets of the company shall be considered in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Mortgage of the Republic of Lithuania.
- After the payment of the required taxes into the budget, including debts to the state social insurance fund budget, also the amounts due, including penalties and default interest, calculated by the tax administrator's officers and other state institutions prior to the removal from the register of the enterprise in liquidation in the manner prescribed by law, and after the discharge of liabilities to the creditors and the employees, the remaining assets shall be distributed to the shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares owned by them. Any contingent assets shall later be distributed in an analogous manner. If the shares of the Company carry different rights, said rights must be taken into account during the distribution of assets.
- After the decision to liquidate the company is adopted and after the company liquidator effects settlements with at least one shareholder (assigns and transfers to the shareholder the remaining share of the company’s property), the general meeting of shareholders of the company in liquidation shall be divested of the right to change the status of the enterprise in liquidation. Article
- Powers of the Liquidator
- The liquidator shall have the rights and obligations of the company's Board. The liquidator shall represent the company in liquidation in court, in its relations with the state governance institutions, and with other natural and legal persons.
- The liquidator of the company shall: 1) make a stock-taking of material and financial valuables and draw up the act of receiving same, draw up the company’s financial statement as of the beginning of the liquidation period (the liquidation balance sheet); 2) complete the discharge of the obligations under contracts concluded previously and enter into new transactions within their powers; 3) complete transactions with the creditors and debtors of the company; 4) distribute the remaining assets of the company to and among the shareholders; 5) draw up the company liquidation act; and 6) apply to the Securities Commission with a request to remove the shares from the Register (annul the registration of the shares) if the company is put in liquidation; 7) transfer the documents of the company in liquidation for safekeeping in accordance with the procedure established in the Law on Archives; 8) present to the registrar of the register of enterprises the documents required in order to have the liquidated company removed from the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania.
- If the liquidation of the company lasts for several years, within 3 months of the end of each business year the liquidator shall draw up the annual financial statement and the liquidation report. These documents shall be open for review to all the shareholders and the third persons with vested interests.
- The liquidator shall be liable to the company and the third persons for the losses incurred through his fault.
- Shareholders who hold shares the total par value whereof amounts to at least 1/10 of the authorised capital shall have the right to appeal to court to replace the liquidator. CHAPTER THREE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF COMPANIES AND SHAREHOLDERS Article
- Company's Rights and Obligations
- Every company must have a name which must include the words "Public Company" (in Lithuanian - akcine bendrove or the acronym - AB) or "Private Company" (in Lithuanian - uzdara akcine bendrove or the acronym UAB). The name of an investment Company must include the words "Investment Company" (in Lithuanian - investicine akcine bendrove or the acronym IAB). The name of the company must be in compliance with the regulations of names of enterprises, institutions and organisations approved by the Government. Disputes over the name of the company shall be settled in court.
- The company may: 1) have accounts with banking institutions registered in the Republic of Lithuania and other states, its own seal which may be altered and used at the company's discretion; 2) buy or acquire in other ways assets, or sell, lease, or mortgage its assets or dispose thereof in any other way. Seeking to avoid institution of bankruptcy proceedings, the company may offer its assets, in the manner prescribed by the Government, to pay off its arrears of payments to the state, municipal or state social insurance fund budgets. The state, municipality or state social insurance board shall have the right to decide, by 31 December 2000, on the issue regarding the payment of arrears in assets. 3) buy or acquire in any other way and own, as well as issue, transfer, exchange, mortgage, or use in any way investment and debt securities. If the acquisition of shares and the exercise of the rights incidental to them reduces competition among companies (enterprises) or competition in the appropriate field of business activities, the number of shares of the other company which is acquired and held may be restricted in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Competition of the Republic of Lithuania; 4) engage in business activities in the Republic of Lithuania and beyond its boundaries; 5) allocate funds for the purposes of charity, health care, culture, science, education, physical education and sport, as well as for relief in cases of natural calamities or other emergencies; 6) conclude contracts, assume obligations, lend and borrow money to and from banks by concluding loan agreements, also borrow funds from other economic entities by issuing debt securities. Companies with 50 or less shareholders may borrow from its shareholders at the interest the rate whereof is fixed by agreement. The company shall also have the right to lend money to other economic entities by acquiring their debt securities if this is voted in favour of by the general meeting. When borrowing funds from its shareholders, the company shall have no right to offer them its assets as a collateral. The annual interest rate fixed on the day of conclusion of the loan agreement may not exceed the last quarter’s average interest rate of the Republic of Lithuania Government securities. The total amount of loans received from the shareholders or other economic entities and loans extended to other economic entities may not at the same time exceed the company’s equity capital. The company must notify of the non-compliance with requirements set out in this Subparagraph in the same manner which is prescribed for stock events in the Law on Public Trading in Securities. The shareholders’ right to lend the company funds must be stipulated in the company’s Articles of Association. The shareholders shall be guaranteed equal conditions for extending loans to the company. The company shall have no right to lend funds to other persons if the company itself has received loans from its shareholders or other economic entities. The provisions hereof shall not be applicable to banks; 7) charge prices, rates and tariffs for its products, services or other resources, with the exception of cases provided for in the laws of the Republic of Lithuania; 8) prepare and implement the systems of payment of pension supplements and benefits, as well as systems of incentives and privileges; 9) reorganise itself, be an incorporator and shareholder of another company; and 10) form associations, concerns or consortiums provided that this is in compliance with the Law on Competition.
- The company may also have other civil rights and obligations which are not established in this Law, provided that said rights and obligations do not contradict the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
- If the company acquires controlling interest in another company, the latter shall become a controlled company. Controlling interest shall consist of shares which give their holder more than 50% of votes at the general meeting. The controlled company shall be a subsidiary, and the controlling company shall be the holding company. A subsidiary may not acquire shares in the holding company.
- The company which fails to settle accounts with creditors within the prescribed time period, and if its debt exceeds 5% of the company’s authorised capital, shall be prohibited from investing its property into another enterprise without the written consent of the said creditors. Article
- Rights and Obligations of Shareholders
- The property and non-property rights as well as the obligations of the shareholders shall be established by this Law and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania and by the company's Articles of Association. The property and non-property rights of shareholders specified in Articles 15 and 16 of this Law may not be subjected to any restrictions, unless the laws establish otherwise.
- The shareholders shall have no other liabilities to the company but the obligation to pay, in the established manner, the issue price of all the shares subscribed for. The resolution of the general meeting obligating all or some of the shareholders to make additional contributions shall be invalid if at least one of them objects to the resolution.
- If the company is in liquidation and lacks funds to discharge its liabilities, shareholders whose shares have not been fully paid up may be requested to pay up for their shares in the manner established by the Articles of Association or by the subscription agreement.
- A share shall not be divisible into smaller parts. If a shares is held by several persons, all its holders shall be considered to be a single shareholder. The rights carried by the share shall be exercised by one of the holders by the general agreement certified by a notary. All the holders of a share shall be jointly liable for the shareholders' obligations.
- The shareholder or the securities accounts manager authorised by him must inform the company’s administration prior to the day of the general meeting of the changes in his address and in the requisites of the personal bank account.
- In order to implement their property and non-property rights, two or more shareholders may conclude the shareholders’ agreement. The agreement must specify the following: 1) the shareholders (full names, names of legal persons) and their addresses; 2) the company’s name; 3) commitments of the shareholders concluding the agreement concerning voting on all or individual items on the agenda of the general meeting, concerning the implementation of non-property rights or resolutions adopted by the meeting; 4) responsibility for failure to meet the made commitments; 5) the procedure for settling disputes between the shareholders - parties to the agreement; 6) the period of validity of the agreement. Article
- Property Rights of Shareholders
- The shareholder shall have the following property rights: 1) to receive a certain portion of the company's profit (dividend); 2) to receive a portion of assets of the company in liquidation; 3) to receive shares without payment if the authorised capital is increased with the funds of the company; 4) to have the pre-emption right, except in cases when the general meeting decides not to grant all the shareholders the pre-emption right in acquiring the company’s newly issued shares; 5) to bequeath all or part of shares to one or several persons; and 6) to sell or transfer in any other way all or part of the shares to the ownership of other persons.
- Shareholders shall have the right to request of the company the repayment of their contributions in the cases provided for in Paragraphs. 7 and 8 of Article 6,
Article 8
,
Article 40and Paragraph 4 of Article 42 of this Law.
Article
- Non-property Rights of the Shareholders
- Shareholders shall have the following non-property rights: 1) to attend the meetings of shareholders as voting members, unless this Law and the Articles of Association provide otherwise; 2) to receive information on the business activities of the company; 3) to appeal in court the resolutions or actions of the general meeting, the Supervisory Board, the Board and the Head of the Administration, which violate the laws, the company’s Articles of Association, the property and non-property rights of the shareholders.
- If all the voting shares of the company are of the same par value, each share, except for the special shares whose status is defined in Article 371 of this Law , shall carry one vote at the general meetings.
- The company’s Articles of Association may provide for a rule according to which shares of certain classes do not carry voting rights. Government or municipal institutions shall be prohibited from acquiring non-voting company shares.
- The shareholder shall have no right to take part in the voting at the general meeting on issues specified in Paragraph 7 of Article 3 or in Subparagraph 9 of
Article 19, in the settlement whereof the shareholder is directly interested.
- If the voting shares are of different par value, one share of the smallest par value shall give its holder one vote. The number of votes given by other shares shall be equal to their par value divided by the smallest par value. The Articles of Association of the company may prescribe for other rules on the establishment of the number of votes, but the number of votes given by a share must be proportionate to its par value.
- The right to vote at the general meetings held prior to the expiry of the term set for the payment of the first issue of shares as specified in the subscription agreement shall be given by the shares paid up according to the procedure set in
Article 41
of this Law, thereafter voting rights shall be carried only by fully paid up shares.
- At the shareholder’s request the company must present to him for inspection or copying the annual and intermediate financial statements, the reports of the Board on the activities of the company, the minutes of the meetings, and the share register; the company shall also present minutes of the Supervisory Board and Board meetings to the shareholders who have given a written promise prescribed by the company not to spread confidential information provided that the minutes contain no officially unpublished information on the company’s stock events. Information (except for the public information specified by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania) which is accorded the status of confidential information by the resolution of the company Board shall be considered confidential. Upon giving a written promise not to spread confidential information, the shareholder who owns shares the total par value whereof accounts for at least 1/20 of the company’s authorised capital or the representative of the shareholders who own shares the total par value whereof accounts for at least 1/20 of the company’s authorised capital shall have the right of access to all minutes of the Supervisory Board or the Board, the transactions entered into by the company, also the offered guarantees, warranties, contracts of long-term pledge and exchange of tangible property. The shareholders who own shares which carry over 1/2 of all votes shall have the right of access to all company documents. The shareholder or the representative of shareholders shall be liable under law for the divulgence of confidential information. At the shareholder’s request refusal to present the requested documents must be executed in writing. Disputes concerning the shareholder’s right to information shall be settled in court.
- Shareholders the total par value of whose holdings amounts to not less than 1/10 of the authorised capital or the institution which holds the special shares shall have the right to appoint an expert (a group of experts) to inspect the company's activities and accounting papers in order to establish whether or not there are any indications of insolvency or fraudulent bankruptcy, or waste of the company’s assets, entry into unprofitable transactions, infringement of the shareholders’ rights, including, among all other things, unjustified payment of wages or granting of concessions or privileges (when this causes reduction of the company’ profit or brings about losses). The inspection expenses shall be covered by the shareholders who appoint the experts. If the expert (the group of experts) confirms the facts stated in the shareholders’ application, the company must refund the inspection expenses, but not in excess of 1/4 of the damage caused to the company or its shareholders. Disputes concerning the experts’ findings shall be settled in court. When carrying out the inspection the experts shall enjoy the same rights as the company inspector (auditor). Article
- Proxies
- The shareholder shall have the right to authorise another person to vote for him as his proxy at the general meeting or perform other legal acts. The proxy of the shareholder-natural person must be certified by a notary, whereas the proxy of the shareholder-legal person or of an enterprise must be certified by the manager's signature and the seal. The inspector of the company the shares whereof are held by the person who is appointing the proxy may not act as the proxy.
- The proxy to represent a shareholder at the meeting must be presented to the person who is responsible for the registration of the participants in the meeting; the person shall record in the list of registration the name of the person who certified the proxy and the date when it was certified as well as its number and term of validity.
- Shares owned by the state or municipality may be represented in the company, in the manner established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, by the authorised central or local government public servants, state-owned or municipal enterprise employees, who may be members of managing bodies of the company. CHAPTER FOUR MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY Article
- Managing Bodies
- The managing bodies of the company shall include the general meeting, the Supervisory Board, the Board, and the head of the Administration.
- On the resolution of the general meeting a public company may decline to form either the Supervisory Board or the Board. Where only the Board is formed, it shall be formed pursuant to the procedure established for the formation of the Supervisory Board in Paragraphs 2, 3, and 5 of Article 24 of this Law. In the public company in which the state or municipality: 1) owns special shares or shares carrying not less than 2/3 of all votes, the Board must be formed; 2) owns shares carrying in excess of 1/2, but less than 2/3 of all votes, the Supervisory Board and the Board must be formed.
- The private company, except for the company in which the state or municipality owns special shares, may decline, on the resolution of the general meeting, to form either the Supervisory Board or the Board. Where either one or both the managing bodies are not formed, their functions, rights and responsibility shall be assigned to other managing bodies. If the Supervisory Board and the Board are not formed, the head of the private company’s Administration shall be elected by the general meeting. Where only the Board is formed, its members shall be elected, re-elected and dismissed in accordance with the procedure established for the formation of the Supervisory Board in Paragraph. 2, 3 and 5 of Article 24 of this Law. In the private company in which the state or the municipality owns special shares the formation of the Board is mandatory.
- If any of the company's managing bodies is not formed, the division of functions, rights and responsibility among the other managing bodies must be specified in the company's Articles of Association.
- The general meeting shall have no right to charge other managing bodies to resolve the issues assigned to its competence. The general meeting shall have the right to resolve issues assigned to the competence of the Supervisory Board and the Board only when asked to do so by the said managing bodies.
- The managing bodies of the company shall have no right to adopt a decision or perform other actions which violate the company’s Articles of Association or contradict the objects of the company specified in the Articles of Association, manifestly go beyond normal production-business risks, are clearly unprofitable (purchase of goods, services or works at prices exceeding market prices or their underselling, waste of the company’s assets) or are unmistakably ineffective from the economic point of view. Article
- General Meeting
- The supreme managing body of the company shall be the general meeting. All the shareholders of the company, irrespective of the number and class of shares they hold, shall have the right to attend the company's general meeting. Members of the Board and the Supervisory Board as well as the head of the Administration, even if they are not shareholders, may also attend the general meeting without the right to vote.
- The shareholders of a public company may attend the general meetings upon presenting statements of their securities accounts concerning shares owned by them. The right to operate securities accounts shall be vested in the brokerage companies and other economic entities specified by law (hereinafter referred to as brokerage companies).
- Only the general meeting shall have the right to: 1) amend and supplement the Articles of Association of the company (except for the case for in Paragraph 4 of Article 30 of this Law); 2) elect the auditor, inspector, members of the Supervisory Board, in the event that the Supervisory Board is not formed - members of the Board, and if neither the Supervisory Board nor the Board is formed - elect the head of the Administration; 3) dismiss members of the Supervisory Board and the Board, the inspector (auditor), and the head of the Administration who have been elected by the general meeting. If the company is operating at a loss, the general meeting must consider the suitability for the appropriate office of the Supervisory Board or the Board members or the head of the Administration (where the Supervisory Board and the Board is not formed); 4) fix the salary of the inspector and the conditions of payment of auditor’s fees, the annual payments (bonuses) from the net profit to the members of the Board and the Supervisory Board pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph 4 of Article 47 and Article 48 of this Law; 5) approve the annual financial statements, the business report of the Board (if the Board is not formed - the head of the Administration); 6) increase the authorised capital - determine the class and amount of the newly issued shares and set the minimum issue price or reduce the authorised capital (except for the case specified in Paragraph 4 of Article 30 of this Law), exchange shares of one class or type for shares of another, adopt a resolution to issue convertible debentures; 7) liquidate or reorganise the company; 8) appoint an expert (a group of experts) for the inspection of the incorporation of the company and management of its affairs; 9) approve the valuation of non-pecuniary (property) contributions; 10) with regard to a specific share issue, decline to grant pre-emption right to all the shareholders; 11) adopt a resolution on the distribution of the profit except for the case provided in Paragraph 7 of Article 48; and 12) adopt a resolution on the transfer of a certain part of the company’s assets for arrears of payments into the state, municipal and state social insurance fund budgets
- The shareholders (or their proxies) attending the general meeting shall be registered by signing in the register. The register must indicate the number of votes possessed by each shareholder. The list shall be signed by the chairman and secretary of the meeting.
- The minutes of the general meeting shall be signed within 3 working days by the chairman, secretary and at least one shareholder authorised to do so by the meeting. Shareholders with at least 1/20 of the the votes at the general meeting shall have the right to appoint their representative to sign the minutes of the general meeting. For that purpose they must file with the chairman of the meeting an application signed by the shareholders. The person authorised (appointed) to sign the minutes shall have the right to present in writing his comments or opinion regarding the facts stated in the minutes. Disputes concerning the invalidity of the minutes of the general meetings or parts of the minutes shall be settled in court. The minutes of the general meeting must be accompanied by the list of the attending shareholders, their respective powers as well as ballot-papers of the shareholders who voted by ballot in advance and documents proving that the shareholders had been notified of the convening of the general meeting. The minutes (copy) of the general meeting which adopted resolutions changing the data on the company kept with the Enterprises Register of the Republic of Lithuania must be within 15 days after the meeting filed, together with the appendices, with the registrar of the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania. Minutes of the general meetings are official documents stored and kept in accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Archives. Falsification of the above minutes shall make a person liable under law. Article
- Quorum of the General Meeting and Adoption of Resolutions
- The general meeting may adopt resolutions if the attending shareholders have more than 1/2 of all votes. The quorum is established on the basis of the shareholders register data prior to the official opening of the meeting and shall not be established anew or revised in the course of the general meeting. If the meeting does not have a quorum, a repeat meeting must be called within 15 days which meeting shall have the right to adopt resolutions on all the items of the agenda irrespective of the number of shareholders present. If the consent of shareholders of shares of a certain class is necessary for the adoption of a resolution, the decision on the consent may be adopted by the meeting of the shareholders of the respective class, provided that the meeting is attended by shareholders who hold more than a half of the shares of said class. The procedure for calling the general meeting shall be valid for convening a repeat meeting.
- Upon familiarising themselves with the agenda and the draft resolution, shareholders with having the right to vote may inform the meeting in writing of their vote "for" or "against" with respect to each individual resolution. Such communications shall be included in the quorum of the meeting and added to the voting results.
- Voting at the general meeting shall be open. On the issues on which at least one shareholder requests a secret vote to be taken, provided that he is supported by shareholders possessing at least 1/20 of the votes, secret voting shall be mandatory to all shareholders, except for the person representing the shares owned by the state or municipality. The person must always vote in writing on the items on the agenda of the general meeting.
- The resolutions of the general meeting shall be adopted by a simple majority vote of the shareholders present, with the exception of the following cases: 1) the election of the Supervisory Board or the Board in accordance with the regulations set out in Paragraph 2 of Article 24; 2) the adoption of resolutions on the issues specified in Paragraph 11 of Article 10, Subparagraphs 1, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11 of
Article 19
,
Article 31
, the adoption whereof require a 2/3 majority vote (since 1 May 2001 - a 3/4 majority vote); also on the resolutions of the Board specified in Paragraph 7 of Article 27; 3) the adoption of the resolution not to grant all the shareholders the pre-emption right, which resolutions requires a 3/4 majority vote in favour (the company’s Articles of Association may provide for a larger majority vote in favour); 4) the adoption of resolutions which requires approval of the holders of preference shares or special shares. 5. The company’s Articles of Association may provide for a larger than 2/3 majority (3/4 or 4/5 of votes) required to adopt resolutions on the amendment and supplementing of the company’s Articles of Association, increase or reduction of the authorised capital, reorganisation or liquidation of the company, distribution of profit, issuing of convertible debentures. As of 1 July 1998, the newly incorporated companies must provide in their Articles of Association for an at least 3/4 majority of votes in favour required to adopt resolutions on the issues specified in Subparagraph 2 of Paragraph 4 hereof. As of 1 May 2001, the provision shall be applicable to all companies. 6. If in the cases specified in Paragraph 4 of Article 16 of this Law the shareholder is not in the position to cast his vote, the results of the voting shall be established not according to the number of votes of the attending shareholders, but according to the number of votes of shareholders who have the right to participate in deciding the issue. Article 21. The Convening of General Meetings 1. The general meeting shall be convened on the resolution of the Board, and if the Board has not been formed - on the resolution of the Supervisory Board. If neither the Board nor the Supervisory Board has been formed in the private company, or if the number of the company’s Board members is not more than one half of their number specified in the Articles of Association, the general meeting must be convened on the decision of the head of the Administration. The general meeting must be convened on the decision of the head of the Administration if the company’s Supervisory Board or the Board fails to convene the meeting in the instances and within the time limits provided by this Law. The right of initiative to convene the general meeting shall be vested in the Supervisory Board and the shareholders with no less than 1/10 of the the votes, unless the Articles of Association provide for a smaller amount of votes as well as the institution which holds the special shares. The general meeting may be convened on the resolution of shareholders with more than 1/2 of the votes or holding the special shares if the persons who attempted to initiate the convening of the meeting did not receive a favourable decision of the company’s managing bodies. 2. The Board must convene the regular annual general meeting each year within 4 months of the end of the business year. 3. The extraordinary general meeting must be called if: 1) the amount of the company’s equity capital becomes smaller than the authorised capital specified in the Articles of Association by over 1/4; 2) the number of the Supervisory Board, Board members becomes half their number specified in the Articles of Association or less (because of the retirement or inability to continue in office); 3) the company’s inspector (auditor) resigns or is unable to continue in office without having examined the company’s annual financial accounts papers; 4) it is requested by the shareholders with the right of initiative or by the Supervisory Board: 5) it is required under other laws or the company’s Articles 4. The persons who are demanding that the general meeting be convened shall submit an application to the Board indicating the reasons and objectives for calling the meeting, a draft agenda and drafts of the resolutions, also proposals as to the time and place of the meeting. If the Board fails to come to an agreement with the persons initiating the meeting on settling the issues proposed on the agenda in any other manner, it must convene the general meeting within 40 days of the filing of the application. 5. The general meeting may be called on the court decision if: 1) the meeting has not been called within 4 months of the end of the business year and a shareholder has brought the matter to court; 2) the persons who initiated the meeting refer the matter to court after failing to get a favourable decision from the Board in accordance with the procedure established by Paragraph 4 hereof; and 3) the creditors of the company have appealed to court on the grounds of failure to call an extraordinary general meeting in the cases specified in Subparagraph 1 of Paragraph 3 hereof. 6. The Board must publish a notice about the convening of the general meeting in the periodicals specified in the Articles of Association or notify each shareholder by registered mail (with confirmation of delivery of such a letter) not later than 30 days prior to the day of the meeting. The Board must not later than 30 days prior to the day of the meeting send to the shareholder possessing not less than 1/20 of all votes the information specified in Paragraph 7 hereof by registered mail and/or by fax provided the shareholder has given his fax number and if he requests the information specified in Paragraph 7 hereof. When a repeat meeting is convened the shareholders must be notified in the same manner not later than 10 days prior to the meeting. The general meeting may be called without observing the above time requirements provided that all the shareholders with the right to vote or their proxies give their written consent thereto. The Board must inform the shareholders about the documents which corroborate the shareholders’ notification of the general meeting being called prior to the opening of the meeting. The documents must be appended to the minutes of the general meeting. 7. The notice about the general meeting must state: 1) the name of the company and the address of its registered office; 2) the place and the date of the meeting; and 3) the draft agenda. 8. The shareholders must be provided a possibility to review the documents related to the agenda of the meeting not later than 7 days before the meeting. If requisitioned in writing by a shareholder possessing at least 1/20 of all votes, the company’s Board must not later than 7 days prior to the opening of the meeting sent out to the shareholder by registered mail and/or fax (if the shareholder has given his fax number) documents related to the agenda of the general meeting. Article 22. Agenda of the General Meeting 1. The draft agenda of the general meeting may be revised. In the event that the agenda of the meeting referred to in the notice on the calling of the meeting is revised, the shareholders must be informed of the changes in the agenda in the same manner in which notice of the general meeting is given and not later than 10 days prior to the meeting. 2. The meeting shall have no right to adopt resolutions on issues which are not on the agenda if not all shareholders who have the voting right attend the meeting. 3. On the proposal of shareholders possessing not less than 1/20 of all the votes submitted at least 15 days prior to the general meeting additional items of business and draft resolutions must be put on the agenda, while the candidates to the members of company’s managing bodies or inspectors (auditors) nominated by them (before or in the course of the meeting) must be included in the voting lists or ballots. The Articles of Association may also provide for a smaller number of votes granting the shareholders the above right. 4. Only the agenda of a meeting which failed to take place shall be valid at the repeat meeting. Article 23. Invalidity of the Resolutions of a General Meeting 1. On the application of the interested persons, the resolutions of the general meeting must be declared invalid in accordance with the judicial procedure if: 1) the issue on which the resolution is adopted has not been included in the agenda of the meeting in accordance with the procedure established by law; 2) the registration documents and data changed by the resolution adopted by the meeting have not been registered in the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Lithuania in the cases and within the period prescribed by laws; 3) the procedure of convening the meetings or drawing up the agenda, prescribed by Articles 21 and 22 of this Law, has been violated; 4) the resolution is not in compliance with the Articles of Association of the company, this Law, or other laws of the Republic of Lithuania; 5) the shareholder voted in violation of the commitments under the shareholders’ agreement (if the shareholder is the incorporator - also under the incorporation agreement), except where the shareholder’s vote did not affect the passing or rejection of the resolution; and 6) the shareholder was represented at the general meeting by a person who did not have the shareholder’s authorisation, the shareholder’s proxy overstepped his authority by his voting at the meeting, voting was held by voteless or non-voting shares, except in cases where this did not affect the quorum of the meeting or the passing or rejection of the resolution. 2. A resolution of the general meeting may be appealed in court not later than within 30 days of the day when the person learned or should have learned about its adoption. Article 24. Formation of the Supervisory Board 1. The number of members of the Supervisory Board shall be prescribed by the Articles of Association of the company; the number must be no less than 3 and no more than 15. 2. The Supervisory Board shall be elected by the general meeting. During the election of the Supervisory Board each shareholder shall have the number of votes which is equal to the number of votes carried by the shares held by him as established pursuant to Article 16 of this Law multiplied by the number of members of the Supervisory Board subject for election. The shareholder shall distribute the votes at his discretion, giving them for one or several candidates. Candidates who receive the greatest number of votes shall be elected. The number of candidates must be equal to the number of the Supervisory Board members subject for election plus one. 3. The Supervisory Board shall be elected for the term not exceeding 4 years. A member of the Supervisory Board may be released from his duties or re-elected for another term of office. The term of office of the Supervisory Board shall commence with the closing of the meeting at which it was elected. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board shall be elected by the members of the Supervisory Board. 4. Only legally capable natural persons may serve as members of the Supervisory Board. Each candidate for the Supervisory Board must inform the shareholders where he is employed and what post he holds. A person who is a member of the Board, head of the Administration of the company, or a person who, pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, has no right to perform these duties may not be a member of the Supervisory Board. 5. The general meeting shall have the right to remove from office the entire Supervisory Board in corpore or its individual members. If, during the removal from office, at least one shareholder votes against the removal of individual members, the entire Supervisory Board must be re-elected upon the removal of a member. 6. The Supervisory Board shall have the right to appoint its own member to serve on the Board for a term not exceeding 6 months, if the number of the Board members is less than that prescribed by the Articles of Association. If the same member of the Supervisory Board is appointed to temporarily serve on the Board, the overall duration of his service on the Board may not exceed 12 months in 4 successive years. While serving on the Board, a member of the Supervisory Board may not perform the duties of a member of the Supervisory Board. 7. The Supervisory Board shall have no right to delegate or transfer its functions to other persons or the managing bodies of the company. 8. A member of the Supervisory Board may resign from his office prior to the expiry of his term upon giving a written notice thereof to the Supervisory Board at least 14 calendar days in advance. 9. The general meeting may remunerate (pay bonuses
- to)members of the Supervisory Board for their work only out of the net profit, taking into account the provisions of Paragraph 4 of Article 47 and Article 48 of this Law. Article 25. Powers of the Supervisory Board 1. The Supervisory Board shall: 1) appoint or dismiss members of the Board. If the company is operating at a loss, the Supervisory Board must consider the suitability of the Board members for their office; 2) at the request of the Board decide on the issue concerning the termination of the employment contract with a member of the Supervisory Board employed in the company; 3) analyse the work of the Board, the use of financial resources, the organisation of production and management, the profitability of capital, remuneration for work, the correctness of depreciation deductions, the prospects of financial position; 4) check the accounting and other papers of the company; 5) make proposals and comments to the general meeting on the annual financial statements of the company, the draft of the profit distribution, and the report of the Board to the general meeting; 6) represent the company in court proceedings when disputes between the company and its Board, or a member of the Board, or the head of the Administration or the company representative are examined; 7) submit proposals to the Board to revoke the resolutions adopted by it if they are not in conformity with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania or the Articles of Association of the company; and 8) consider other issues provided in the Articles of Association of the company or in the resolutions adopted by the general meeting. 2. The Supervisory Board shall have the right to appoint an expert (or group of experts) or ask a government financial institution to check and assess the Company's accounting. The Articles of Association of the company may specify a sum of money which may be paid to experts in remuneration for their work. 3. At the request of the Supervisory Board the Administration of the company and the Board must present documents concerning the activities of the company and create conditions for inspecting the company's assets. Members of the Supervisory Board must preserve the confidentiality of the company's secrets divulged to them in the course of their duties. 4. Members of the Supervisory Board shall have equal rights. During voting each member shall have one vote. In the event of a tie the chairman shall have the casting vote. 5. If a member of the Supervisory Board is unable to attend the meeting, he may take a written vote "for" or "against" the resolution which is being voted on provided that he has familiarised himself with the draft resolution. 6. If the meeting of the Supervisory Board is attended by more than a half of its members, the meeting may adopt resolutions by a simple majority vote of those present, with the exception of resolutions on removing members of the Board from office. In this case resolutions shall be adopted by a 2/3 vote of those present. 7. The Supervisory Board must meet at least once quarterly. Its regular meetings shall be called following the schedule by the chairman of the Supervisory Board or, in his absence, by the vice chairman. They shall call extraordinary meetings at the request of no less than 1/3 of the members of the Supervisory Board. The procedure for calling meetings shall be established in the work regulations of the Supervisory Board. 8. Members of the Supervisory Board shall be liable in the manner established by law for concealing violations of the company's business activities, inadequate control of business activities, if that provided conditions for the Board or the Administration to ignore the laws of the Republic of Lithuania or the Articles of Association of the company. Article 26. Formation of the Board 1. The number of the Board members, which may not be less than 3, shall be established by the company’s Articles of Association. The Board is a collegiate body whose activities are directed by its chairman. 2. Only legally capable natural persons may be appointed or elected as members of the Board. Each candidate for the Board members must notify the Supervisory Board of his place of employment and duties. The following persons may not be appointed or elected as members of the Board: 1) members of the Supervisory Board of the same company or its holding company registered in the Republic of Lithuania, with the exception of the case provided for in Paragraph 6 of Article 24 of this Law; and 2) a person who, under the laws of the Republic of lithuania, may not serve in the office. The Articles of Association of the company may prescribe additional requirements to a member of the Board. 3. The Board and its chairman shall be appointed by the Supervisory Board for a term not exceeding 4 years; in its absence, the Board members shall be elected by the general meeting. The institution holding special shares shall appoint one Board member. There is no limitation on the number of terms of office a member of the Board may serve. 4. By notifying the Board in writing at least 14 calendar days in advance, a member of the Board may resign from his post before the expiry of his term of office. 5. If the general meeting fails to approve the report on the company’s activities, the Board must resign and within a 40-day period convene the extraordinary general meeting (if the company has no Supervisory Board) in order to elect a new Board. 6. The general meeting may remunerate (pay bonuses
- to)members of the Board for their work on the Board only out of the net profit, taking into account the provisions of Paragraph 4 of Article 47 and Article 48 of this Law. The members of the Board shall receive a salary if they have entered into an employment contract with the company. Article 27. Powers and Liabilities of the Board 1. The procedure of work of the Board shall be established in the work regulations adopted by the Board. The Board may represent the company in court, arbitration bodies and other institutions. The powers of the Board and its members shall be established by the Articles of Association of the company. 2. The Board shall consider and approve: 1) the structure of the company and the titles and duties of the company's officers; 2) posts in which persons are employed only by holding competitions as well as candidates for said posts; 3) the candidates for the post of the head of Administration, his deputies (directors) and their respective salaries; and 4) the office regulations for the head of the Administration, deputy heads (directors), regulations for the subdivisions of the enterprise, work regulations for the Administration. 3. The Board shall analyse and approve the material submitted by the Administration and the inspector (auditor) on: 1) the strategy of production, technical, research, design and experimental work as well as other business activities; 2) the organisation of management and production; 3) the sources of accumulation of financial resources and ways of their use; 4) transactions entered into by the company; and 5) quarterly and annual results of business activities, the company's draft financial statement, income and expenditure estimates, draft of the distribution of profit, stock-taking data and other records of valuables; and 6) results of inspections and audits. 4. The Board must timely hold general meetings, draw up their agenda, present to the shareholders the company's annual financial statements, the draft of the distribution of profit, report on the activities of the company and other required information for considering the items on the agenda. 5. The Board must invite the head of the company's Administration to every meeting and provide him with possibilities to familiarise himself with the information concerning the items on the agenda. 6. The Board shall be prohibited from restricting the inspector's powers or from interfering with his work in any other way. 7. A resolution of the general meeting adopted by an at least 2/3 vote of those present shall be required for the decisions of the Board concerning the sale, transfer, lease or mortgage of, or pledge or guarantee of the fulfilment of other entities’ liabilities by a portion of the company's long-term assets accounting for over 1/20 of the company's authorised capital value. The total value per business year of such transactions concluded without the consent of the general meeting may not exceed 1/20 of the company's authorised capital value 8. The chairman and members of the Board must jointly compensate for the losses incurred by the company by reason of the resolutions of the Board adopted in violation of the company's Articles of Association, this Law and other laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Exempted from the obligation to compensate for the losses shall be persons who voted against the resolution or did not attend the meeting at which the resolution was adopted, provided that they present a written protest to the presiding officer within 7 days after they learnt or ought to have learnt about the resolution. The resignation of a member of the Board or his removal from office shall not exempt him from the obligation to compensate for the losses incurred through his fault. A member of the Board may be exempted from the obligation to compensate for the losses inflicted by him through the performance of his duties provided that he acted in accordance with the company’s documents and other information the accuracy whereof was beyond reasonable doubt, or if he acted within the limits of normal production-business risks. Disputes concerning the compensation of losses shall be settled in court. 9. Unless authorised by the Supervisory Board or, in case the Supervisory Board is not formed, by the general meeting, the chairman of the Board or any other Board member or the head of the Administration may not set up another enterprise to engage in similar activities (whose turnover according to the economic activities classifier accounts for not less than 1/20 of the company’s turnover), also own, use by the right of ownership shares (share of ownership) which account for more than 1/3 of the authorised capital and dispose thereof, serve on the Board or as head of the Administration of any other enterprise doing similar business, or be a Board member or the head of the Administration of an enterprise which carries on the company’s production or services process and the sale of products. If the Board member or the Board chairman or the head of the Administration fails to comply with the above requirement: 1) he must within 30 days of coming into effect of this Law inform the company’s Board or the general meeting in writing of his activities in another enterprise; 2) he must resign from the company’s managing bodies and transfer to the company the income he received in his name from transactions entered into in another enterprise; 3) each shareholder shall have the right, within 90 of the day he learns or should have learnt of the violations committed by the member or chairman of the Board or the head of the Administration, to demand that the recovery of damages sustained by the company be sought through the courts or that everything receivable by the person under contracts with the enterprise be surrendered to the company. If civil action for damages is brought against the chairman of the Board, the member of Board or the head of the Administration for failure to comply with the requirements laid down in Subparagraphs 1 or 2 hereof, the person representing the shares owned by the state or municipality must requisition convening the extraordinary general meeting and vote for the dismissal of the said person from office. 10. If the rights of the shareholders established in this Law and in the company's Articles of Association were enforced by instituting legal proceedings, the members of the Board shall jointly refund the legal expenses and compensate for the damages incurred by the shareholders because of the disregard of their rights. 11. The right of initiative to convene the Board meeting shall be vested in the chairman of the Board, the member appointed by the institution representing the special shares, as well as in the members of the Board provided that more than a half of the Board members approve thereof. The resolutions adopted by the Board shall be valid if voted in favour of by at least a half of the Board members. The member of the Board appointed by the institution representing the special shares shall have the right of veto when voting on issues regulated by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. When other issues are put to the vote, the Board member appointed by the institution representing the special shares shall not be entitled to vote. A member of the Board shall not be entitled to vote when the Board meeting is taking a decision on his pecuniary liability issues or the personal matters of his work in the company. 12. The members of the Board must keep the company's secrets confidential. 13. The Board shall perform its functions until the expiry of the term established in the Articles of Association or until a new Board is appointed or elected and commences its work. Article 28. The Company Inspector and Auditor 1. The company’s accounting and financial statements must be inspected and audited at the close of the business year and prior to the general meeting. The inspection or audit shall be performed by the inspector or the auditor. The inspector’s or auditor's post may be held by a legally capable natural person, possessing a qualifications certificate, or an enterprise which provides accounting or auditing services. The inspector (auditor) shall be elected by the general meeting for a term specified in the Articles of Association but not exceeding 4 years. An employee of the company, or a member of the Supervisory Board or the Board, or a shareholder who holds more than 10% of shares in the company may not be elected inspector (auditor). 2. The inspector shall control the company's financial activities. The inspector’s procedure of work shall be established in his work regulations approved by the general meeting. 3. The inspector must: 1) inspect the annual financial statements of the company and other books and records of the company; 2) perform any inspections of the company on the instruction of the general meeting or the Supervisory Board or the Board; and 3) report to the next general meeting or the meeting of the Supervisory Board all the violations disclosed in the course of inspection. 4. The inspector of the holding company shall have the right to inspect of the subsidiary company. 5. The Administration and the Board of the company must present to the inspector (auditor) the books and records requested by him. 6. For his work the company shall pay the inspector (auditor) a salary. The amount of the salary and the conditions of payment thereof shall be determined by the general meeting. 7. The inspector must keep the company's secrets learnt by him in the course of inspection confidential. 8. The inspector of the company shall be liable under law for unsatisfactory control of the company's activities and concealment of deficiencies in its activities. 9. The audit shall be performed in accordance with the legal acts regulating the audit and the work of auditors as well as the terms of contract between the Company and the auditor. Article 29. The Administration 1. Business activities of the company shall be organised and performed by the Administration. The regulations of the Administration's work shall be approved by the Board. 2. The Administration shall work in compliance with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, the company’s Articles of Association, work regulations, regulations of the divisions and the staff, resolutions of the Board and decisions of the head of the Administration. 3. The company must have the head of the Administration and chief financier (accountant). The head of the Administration may not concurrently occupy the post of the chief financier (accountant). 4. The activities of the Administration shall be managed by the head of the Administration (President, General Director, Director). The functions of the head of the Administration may be performed by a natural person provided he is employed under the employment contract, also a natural person possessing a patent to provide management services, or a personal enterprise provided that the management contract has been concluded with any one of them (the natural person possessing the patent or the personal enterprise). The management contract shall be concluded between the company and the enterprise which is charged to provide the company with management services or the natural person possessing the patent to provide management services. The personal enterprise shall have the right to provide management services provided its income from the activity accounts for at least 60% of the income of the personal enterprise received within a business year. 5. The head of the Administration shall be appointed and released from office by the Board of the company. The Board may organise a competition for the selection of the head of the Administration. 6. The procedure of wage and bonus payment to the head of the Administration shall be established by the Board in the management or employment contract. The management or employment contract with the head of the Administration shall be concluded by the person authorised by the Board. Remuneration for work of the head of the Administration, who is a member of the company Board, also the procedure of bonus payment shall be established by the Supervisory Board. 7. A person who is prohibited under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania from acting as the head of the Administration may not be appointed to the post. The head of the Administration may not be the manager or auditor of another enterprise. In the event he holds such a post, he must resign from it within one month after the appointment. 8. The Board of the company or the general meeting may terminate the employment contract with the head of the Administration pursuant to the provisions of Subparagraph 3 of
Article 19
of this Law or Paragraph 5 hereof according to the procedure established in the Law on Employment Contract or in the contract of management. Pending the termination of the contract, the company Board may restrict the powers of the head of the Administration. The company Board must within 2 working days notify the registrar of the register of enterprises in writing of the restriction of powers of the head of the Administration and time period thereof.
- The chief financier (accountant) shall be appointed, his remuneration shall be fixed and employment contract shall be concluded with him by the Board of the company. Other officers of the Administration shall be employed and the employment contract shall be concluded with them by the head of the Administration.
- The head of the Administration shall have the right to conclude transactions of the company in accordance with the Articles of Association, resolutions of the Board and work regulations. The Articles of Association may establish spheres of activities wherein the deputies of the head of the Administration shall have the right to act independently and to conclude the company's transactions. Unless the head of the Administration is a member of the Board, he shall participate in the meetings of the company Board without the right to vote.
- If the head of the Administration or a person authorised by him entered into a transaction or performed other illegal actions which exceeded the normal production-business risks and thereby inflicted damage on the company (including loss of profit) or by reason thereof the persons derive direct or indirect benefit at the cost of the company or other shareholders of the company, the company shareholder or shareholders shall have the rights to sue for damages (including the loss of profit). CHAPTER FIVE CAPITAL OF THE COMPANY Article
- The Capital Structure
- The company's capital shall consist of its equity capital and borrowed capital. The equity capital shall be formed out of the share issue price and the profit of the company. The borrowed capital shall be formed by offering issued debentures, taking loans and by borrowing funds in any other way.
- The Company's equity capital shall consist of: 1) the authorised capital; 2) the share premium (the amount above par value); 3) the revaluation reserve; 4) mandatory reserve; 5) distributable, undistributable and other reserves provided by law; 6) retained profit (losses); 7) grants and subsidies; 8) deferred expenses (expenses formed by increasing the current period costs or reducing the income, which are anticipated in the subsequent periods in order to correctly reflect the performance of the periods).
- The company's equity capital may not be less than 3/4 of the authorised capital specified in the Articles of Association. If the company’s equity capital becomes less than the specified amount of its authorised capital, the Board must within 4 months of the day of drawing up the annual or quarterly financial statement rectify the situation in accordance with its powers or convene the extraordinary general meeting to consider the decrease of the authorised capital. The general meeting must reduce the company’s authorised capital by cancelling the shares or reducing the par value by the amount whereby the authorised capital exceeds the equity capital.
- If the general meeting fails to fulfil the requirements of Paragraph 3 hereof and to adopt a resolution to decrease the authorised capital and accordingly amend the Articles of Association, or refuses to consider the issue, the Board (in case it is not formed - the head of the Administration) must appeal to court within 15 days after the general meeting but not later than within 5 months of the drawing up of the annual or quarterly financial statement requesting invalidation of the resolution of the general meeting not to reduce the company’s authorised capital (or the refusal to consider the issue). After the court declares the resolution of the general meeting invalid, the company Board (if the Board is not formed - the head of the Administration) must adopt the resolution to reduce the company’s authorised capital and amend the Articles of Association accordingly. Article
- Reserves and their Composition
- The revaluation reserve - the amount of increase in the value of long-term tangible and financial assets obtained upon the asset revaluation. The revaluation reserve shall be reduced when the revalued assets are sold, written off or transferred to the state or municipality. The revaluation reserve may not be used to reduce losses. The revaluation reserve may be applied to increase the authorised capital in accordance with the procedure established in Article
- Mandatory reserve shall be formed out of deductions from net profit in accordance with the procedure established in Paragraph 5 of Article 48 and shall be used to cover the losses. In case of reduction of the authorised capital the mandatory reserve may be reduced retaining the ratio specified in Paragraph 5 of Article 48 of this Law. The difference in the amount of the mandatory reserve during the decrease of the authorised capital shall be attributed to the profit or loss of the current year to be appropriated.
- Other reserves shall consist of the distributable an undistributable reserves. Undistributable reserves shall be formed in accordance with the procedure established by law and the company’s Articles of Association for specific purposes by transferring a share of the net profit of the accounting period. The undistributable reserves shall be formed, reduced and abolished by the resolution of the general meeting by an at least 2/3 majority vote. Reducing or abolishing the undistributable reserves the authorised capital shall be increased by the amount and the par value of shares shall be increased in proportion to the par value of shares held by the shareholders or new shares shall be issued. The distributable reserves shall be formed and used only in accordance with the procedure established in the Company’s Articles of Association. The authorised capital may be increased out of these reserves, at the same time increasing proportionately the par value of shares held by the shareholders or issuing new shares.
- The reserves provided for in Paragraph 3 hereof shall be formed only upon forming the mandatory reserve established by Paragraph 2 hereof. Article
- Shares 1.Shares are the investment financial securities evidencing the participation of their holders in the company's capital and entitling them to property and non-property rights. Shares in private companies may be represented by certificates (documents printed in compliance with the requirements established for securities) or uncertificated (represented by entries in securities accounts). A private company may use certificates. The shares of public companies must be uncertificated.
- The par value of a share must be quoted in litas (without indicating the centas - one hundredth of a litas). The issue price of a share may not be less than its par value.
- Shares are classified into the following types: 1) according to the manner of disposal - into registered and bearer shares; 2) according to the rights attached - into ordinary and preference shares.
- The shares of a private company may only be registered shares and may be transferred according to the procedure established in the Articles of Association. These shares shall not be registered with the Securities Commission. The issue of shares of public companies must be registered with the Securities Commission and a joint account must be opened with the Central Securities Depository of Lithuania for the share issue.
- Uncertificated shares shall be represented by entries in securities accounts which are either operated by the issuing company or brokerage firm in the name of shareholders. Each shareholder of a public company shall have the right to choose where to keep the securities account -- in the public company the shares of which he holds or in the brokerage firm. The provisions of Paragraphs 2, 5 and 6 of Article 39 shall not apply to uncertificated shares.
- Entries in securities accounts shall evidence the ownership of uncertificated shares. Transfer of uncertificated shares shall be debited to the securities account of the transferor and credited to the securities account of the transferee. Upon entering into transaction relative to the transfer of shares, the parties to the contract must present to their agents who operate their securities accounts the contract which must contain the information specified in Subparagraphs 2-5 of Paragraph 8 hereof.
- The company or a brokerage firm in which securities account of a shareholder is opened, must issue upon the shareholder’s request the statement of account indicating the number of shares and other information relative to the shares recorded in the account.
- A share represented by a certificate must specify: 1) the word "Share " or " The share of a private company ( certificate)"; 2) the code and name of the company; 3) par value of a share; 4) number (code); 5) the rate of dividend on preference shares and their voting right; 6) the issue date; 7) the name of the holder of a registered share; and 8) the signatures of the chairman of the Board and the chairman of the Supervisory Board or the facsimiles of their signatures. The information that must be provided in securities accounts relative to uncertificated shares shall be established by standard acts regulating the securities and their circulation accounting. The certificate may be issued for any number of shares, indicating the share numbers.
- Shares of one type are classified according to the rights that they carry. The rights carried by different classes of shares must be specified in the Articles of Association of the company. The par value of all shares of one class must be identical.
- Shares may be issued after the registration of the company or after the increase of its authorised capital, and after they have been fully paid for at the issue price.
- The company shall be prohibited from issuing shares which may be exchanged for debentures. Convertible debentures (which may be exchanged for shares) may be issued only in the case specified in
Article 43of this Law.
It shall be prohibited to issue shares of the types other than those prescribed by this Law. 12.The trading in the shares of the company in liquidation shall be allowed until the expiry of the term fixed for the settling of accounts with the shareholders. Article
- Partly Paid Shares
- A person who has subscribed for shares shall have no right to transfer his shares to other persons prior to the registration of the company or prior to the increase of its authorised capital and until the shares have been fully paid for.
- Partly paid certificated shares shall be marked by provisional statements from the shareholders’ list (shareholders register) which must specify the shareholder, the number of shares subscribed for by him and the amount paid in for the shares or the value of his property contribution, the balance required in order to have the shares fully paid up and the deadline for payments. Upon the payment of the full share issue price, the must be replaced by certificated shares (certificates).
- Entries in the securities accounts of shareholders, representing partly paid uncertificated shares shall state the amount paid, the amount still due and the deadline for payments. This data shall also be specified in the statement of securities account of a shareholder issued to the shareholder. 4.Trading in partly paid shares shall be prohibited. Article
- Registered and Bearer Shares 1.The owner (shareholder) of a certificate representing registered share shall be a natural or legal person whose name is indicated on the share and in the share register of the company. The share register must state the following information about the shareholder: full name of the person or company, address (registered office), the number of shares held and their par value.
- Registered certificated shares shall be transferred to other persons by making a relevant record - endorsement on the share (certificate). As to the form of endorsement and the identification of the owner of registered shares, provisions set forth in Articles 12, 13 and 16 of the Law on the Bills of Exchange of the Republic of Lithuania shall apply.
- The owner of an uncertificated registered share is a natural or legal person in whose name the securities account has been opened. Registered shares of a shareholder shall be recorded in this account.
- Public companies shall have the right to get, according to the procedure established by standard acts regulating the securities and their circulation, information from brokerage firms about registered shares of that company, recorded in the securities accounts operated by them, the shareholders register and other information relative thereto.
- The owner of a bearer share is a natural or legal person in whose name securities account has been opened. In this account, bearer shares of a shareholder are recorded. Public companies shall have no right to demand from brokerage firms to disclose the owners of bearer shares and other information relative thereto.
- Registered shares of a public company may be exchanged for bearer shares or vice versa, if the general meeting so decides by at least 2/3 of votes and if it has amended the Articles of Association accordingly.
- The Articles of Association of a private company may establish that the holder of the company’s shares may sell or otherwise transfer part of his shares into the ownership of another person only with the consent of the Board. The Board may refuse to give consent to the transfer of shares only if the transfer of a part of shares would increase the number of shareholders to a greater number than prescribed by Paragraph 4 of Article 2 of this Law. The shareholder must be notified about the consent or refusal within 15 days from the receipt of his application (within 40 days, if the Board has not been formed and, pursuant to the Articles of Association of the private company, the granting of consent to the transfer of share is within the powers of the general meeting). Public companies shall be prohibited from restricting the right of shareholders to sell or otherwise transfer their shares into the ownership of another person provided it is done according to the procedure established by this Law. Article
- Ordinary and Preference Shares 1.Ordinary shares constitute the main part of the company's shares. The par value of the preference shares may not exceed 1/3 of the authorised capital. All ordinary shares must be of equal par value.
- The property rights of the ordinary share holders to dividend and a portion of assets of the company in liquidation may be realised only after the satisfaction of claims of the holders of preference shares. Only the holders of ordinary shares shall have the right to new shares which are issued when the company’s authorised capital is increased with the company’s distributable and undistributable reserves. If the authorised capital is increased out of share premium or revaluation reserve, the holders of both preference and ordinary shares shall have the right of pre-emption. Exchange (conversion) of ordinary shares for preference shares shall be prohibited. 3.It shall be prohibited to fix in the Articles of Association of the company or in the subscription agreement the rate of dividend to which the holders of ordinary shares are entitled. 4.The property and non-property rights carried by preference shares, as well as the procedure for changing the rights must be established prior to their sale and must be recorded in the Articles of Association of the company. The amount of dividend shall be established as a percentage of the par value of the share. The specific (fixed) amount of the dividend on preference shares as a percentage of the par value of the share must be prescribed in the company’s Articles of Association. The dividend on preference shares may not exceed the larger of the following figures: the triple amount of the last quarter’s average interest rate of the Republic of Lithuania Government securities or the double amount of the dividend on ordinary shares, valid on the day of the general meeting which adopted the company’s Articles of Association or their amendments, establishing the property and nonproperty rights carried by the preference shares.
- If the profit is not sufficient for the payment of the dividend specified on the preference shares, all the preference shares with different dividend rates shall receive the dividend of a proportionately smaller amount. 6.The dividend on preference shares may be cumulative or non-cumulative. This must be established in the Articles of Association prior to the sale of shares. 7.The holder of cumulative preference shares shall be guaranteed the right to the rate of dividend specified on the shares. If the profit is not sufficient for the payment of all dividend, the unpaid sum must be carried over to the next business year.
- The unpaid dividend or part of unpaid dividend on non-cumulative preference shares may not be transferred to the following business year. 9.Before exchanging (converting) cumulative preference shares for ordinary shares, the company must settle accounts with the holders of preference shares or commit itself to pay the debt in the next business year.
- The Articles of Association may establish that the preference shareholders have no voting rights. If in two consecutive business years the company fails to pay the full amount of dividend to the holders of cumulative voteless preference shares, such shareholders shall acquire the voting right. The shareholders shall retain this right until the end of the business year in which the full amount of their dividend has been paid to them. Article
- Employee Shares
- The employee shares shall be the registered shares sold on preferential terms or otherwise transferred to the employees of the company. Such shares may be issued only after all shares subscribed for at the moment of incorporation have been fully paid for.
- The sphere of circulation of employee shares may be restricted by the Articles of Association of the company, but the restriction may not cover a period longer than three years after the day of the issue of shares. It must also be established that the holder of an employee share has no right to transfer in any way the shares to another person who has no right to acquire such shares. Upon the expiry of the term of this restriction, the share shall lose the status of an employee share.
- The issue price of an employee share may be below its par value, if the difference is covered out of the deductions from the employee's wages, which at his request are accumulated in a special fund. It shall be prohibited to compel an employee to buy the company's shares and to make deductions from his wages for the payment for shares for which he has not subscribed.
- The heirs of a deceased employee shall have the right to retain his employee share or demand that the company redeem this share at a fair price (rate) or exchange it for a non-employee share. Article
- Shares of Agricultural Producers
- Shares of agricultural producers shall be the shares sold on preferential terms in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania which have been acquired by agricultural producers (suppliers of raw materials or users of services), as well as their cooperative societies (cooperatives). These shares shall be ordinary registered shares.
- The shares purchased in accordance with the above procedure shall acquire the status of agricultural producers’ shares as from the day of their purchase, except in cases when such shares were by 21 July 1994 sold or otherwise transferred to persons who are not agricultural producers.
- The sphere of circulation of agricultural producers' shares shall be restricted. The holders of the above shares shall have the right to sell or otherwise transfer them only to agricultural producers and their cooperative societies (cooperatives) in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania The status of agricultural producers' shares may not be changed. Article
- Special Shares
- Special shares shall be ordinary registered shares granting the state or the municipality additional nonproperty rights. The special share status may be accorded, on the resolution of the general meeting, to any share (shares) owned by the state or the municipality (upon the waiver by the state or the municipality of certain nonproperty rights granted to them by the general meeting by a 2/3 (3/4) vote in favour). In such event over 1/2 of the shares owned by the state or the municipality must be offered for sale and the company’s basic activity must correspond to at least one sphere of activities specified in the laws regulating transport, energy, oil, communications and public utilities sectors. In addition to the special shares, the state or the municipality may also own ordinary registered shares carrying less than 1/3 (1/4) of the votes.
- The general meeting may grant the property and nonproperty rights carried by the special shares to the shares of those companies whose basic activity corresponds to the activity of transport, oil, communications and public utilities sectors regulated by law.
- Property and nonproperty rights of the special shares must be established in the company’s Articles of Association. The expiry of validity of the nonproperty rights carried by the special shares of each sector of economy specified in this Article shall be determined by the Seimas on the proposal of the Government. The company’s Articles of Association must provide for the holders of the special shares the right to: 1) veto the resolutions of the general meeting if the issues under consideration are related to the transfer (in one or several stages) of the company’s shares carrying over 1/2 of the votes, if the restriction on the transfer of shares is provided for in the contract of share sale or in the shareholders’ agreement or when the issues are related to the special share status, suspension of the company’s activity, reorganisation or liquidation of the company, also other issues which may be provided for in the laws regulating the transport, energy, oil, communications and public utilities sectors or in the shareholders’ agreements; 2) make an intervention on every issue discussed at the general meeting; 3) convene general meetings and propose items for the agenda of the meeting and drafts of resolutions. Article
- Debentures
- A debenture of a public company is a term credit security giving its holder the right to receive annual interest as well as other rights specified on the debenture or in the resolution to issue debentures. On maturity, debenture shall give its holder the right to receive the sum of money from a public company equal to the par value of a debenture. Annual interest shall not be paid to the holder of a debenture provided that this is stated on the debenture (in the resolution to issue debentures). Debentures may be uncertificated, in which case they shall be represented by entries in the securities accounts of their holders. Accounting of debentures and their circulation shall be carried out according to the provisions set forth in Paragraphs 5-8 of Article 32 and Paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 34 hereof.
- Public companies the authorised capital of which is not fully paid up shall be prohibited from issuing debentures, except in the case when they are offered exclusively to the employees and shareholders of these companies. The par value of debentures issued by a public company may not exceed fully paid up authorised capital and when there are guarantees of the third party -- may not exceed the sum of the fully paid up authorised capital and the amount of the guarantees. 3.The resolution to issue debentures may be adopted by the general meeting by a simple majority vote, or by the Board if this is provided in the Articles of Association.
- A public company must redeem its debentures by the date and on the terms specified in their subscription agreement. Debenture holders shall have equal rights with the other creditors of a public company.
- Private companies shall be prohibited from issuing debentures. Article
- Invalidity of Securities Issued by the Company
- Shares shall be invalid and shall not carry any property or nonproperty rights if: 1) they have been issued in violation of the requirements of Paragraph 10 of Article 32; 2) the shares of public companies have not been registered with the Securities Commission or have been removed from the register (their registration has been revoked) in the manner prescribed by laws.
- If the company has changed its name, exchanged one type of shares for the other type of shares, reduced the par value of its shares or the rights of preference shareholders, it must also, within 4 months, exchange the shares held by the shareholders and the provisional shareholders' certificates or make appropriate inscriptions on them. If within 3 months after public announcement or written notice the shareholders fail to present to the company Board their shares or provisional shareholders' certificates, provisional shareholders' certificates shall become invalid, whereas the shares shall be deposited.
- Invalidity of shares must be publicly announced by the company.
- The invalidity of shares shall not bring about the reduction of the company’s authorised capital, unless the general meeting decides otherwise. 5.If the security issued by the company is damaged and not suitable for circulation, but is, however, identifiable, the company must replace it at the holder's request. Expenses incurred thereby must be covered by the holders of such securities.
- Lost, destroyed or missing securities shall be replaced by the company according to the procedure established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Article
- Subscription for Shares 1.Subscription for shares is an agreement between the company and a natural or legal person whereby one party commits itself to allot a certain number of new shares and the other party binds itself to pay the full issue price of the shares subscribed for. The share subscription agreement and the incorporation agreement of a private company may be one document.
- The subscription agreement of the company must state: 1) the name of the company; 2) the amount of authorised capital of the newly-incorporated company or the increase of the authorised capital; 3) the date of the general meeting at which the resolution to increase the authorised capital has been passed; 4) the date and registration number of the share issue and of the company's Articles of Association; 5) the par value and the issue price of the shares, the number of shares of each class issued and the rights they carry; 6) the share subscription dates; 7) procedure of payment for shares; 8) the procedure of share allotment in the event of over-subscription; 9) the full name of a subscriber (the name of the legal person) and his address (registered office) ; and 10) the number of shares subscribed for according to their classes. The incorporator and, upon the registration of the company, the Board shall be responsible for the drawing up of the draft subscription agreement, the announcement and correctness of the information. If the subscriber gives inaccurate or incomplete data specified in Paragraphs 9 and 10 hereof, the public company may unilaterally terminate the subscription agreement and return the contributions.
- At the subscriber”s request, the company (when the company is being incorporated - its incorporators) must, within 15 days from the written request, return his contributions without any deductions if: 1) the company was being incorporated not in compliance with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) the authorised capital has been increased in violation of this Law; and 3) inaccurate or incomplete data specified in Subparagraphs 1 - 8 of Paragraph 2 hereof has been presented in the subscription agreement.
- The subscriber may not relinquish his liabilities to the company and the company may not declare a person's subscription invalid after the Company has been registered or its authorised capital has been increased.
- The shareholder's pre-emption right shall give him a possibility to subscribe for shares the par value whereof is proportionate to the total par value of the shares held by him. The period of time for exercising this right may not be less than 30 days. Public company shareholders shall have the right to assign to other persons, in the manner prescribed by the Securities Commission, the pre-emption right to acquire new shares of the company. The private company shareholders shall have the right to assign the pre-emption right pursuant to the requirements of Paragraph 7 of Article 34 of this Law. Article
- Payment for Shares
- Payment for shares means the payment of the share issue price in cash or in non-pecuniary (property) contributions by the shareholders. Only the assets which are the objects of the property law and which may be rated economically may be used as non-pecuniary (property) contributions. Works and services may not be used as contributions.
- The shares issued by the company must be fully paid up within the period specified in the subscription agreement, but not later than within 1 year after the signing of the agreement. The subscription agreement must indicate the dates for the payment for shares, including the date for the payment of the first instalment. 3.The initial instalments in cash may not be less than 1/4 of the issue price of shares. They shall be paid to the cummulative account the funds of which may be used only after the registration of the Company, at the date established in the subscription agreement. Non-pecuniary (property) contributions for the subscribed for shares shall be paid on the dates prescribed by the share subscription agreement. If the balance of the issue price is paid in non-pecuniary (property) contributions and these contributions are paid by instalments, the issue price shall be considered as fully paid up only after the last instalment is valued and approved according to the established procedure. If the initial instalments for shares of other issues (except for the first issue) are not paid in cash, the total issue price must be covered by property instalments within the time period prescribed for the payment of initial instalments.
- The non-pecuniary (property) contributions shall be valued by the inspector of the company or by an independent external auditor or commission of experts, appointed by the Board (the incorporators). The shares shall be deemed as fully paid up only after the general meeting approves the valuation of the non-pecuniary (property) contributions.
- If a shareholder fails to pay the installments for the subscribed shares when due, the company shall have the right to: 1) within 30 days after the expiry of the deadline for the payment for shares, sell the shares subscribed for by the debtor by auction or to sell them at a fair price (rate). If the shares are sold for a lower price than the subscriber's debt to the company, the company shall have the right to demand that he pay the balance. If the shares are sold at a higher price, the difference must be returned to the subscriber; 2) to demand from the defaulting shareholder to pay interest on the amount due at the rate established in the subscription agreement, and recover the sums due through court. The interest may not be less than 25% per year calculating it on the amount due. Article
- Increase of the Authorised Capital
- The authorised capital of the company shall be increased provided that a general meeting by an at least 2/3 vote resolves to issue new shares or to increase the par value of the issued shares and to amend the Articles of Association accordingly. The company may issue new shares or increase their par value only after its authorise