Lithuania
Importing a car into Lithuania
From the single market, bringing a car into Lithuania is informal: no customs declaration, no import VAT on a used car. On the first registration of a passenger car, however, a charge falls due that is assessed on CO₂ output — which makes the whole sum hang on one figure in the vehicle papers.
- Registration authority
- Regitra
- Customs
- Lietuvos Respublikos muitinė
- Technical inspection
- Techninė apžiūra
- Last reviewed
Where the car comes from decides the effort
From an EU state
From an EU state there is no customs declaration, and no import VAT on a used car. What remains is the registration charge on first entry, compulsory insurance and — if the car counts as new for tax — Lithuanian VAT.
From a third country
From Switzerland or Liechtenstein it is an import: declared to customs, with duty and import VAT. The registration charge comes on top, because it hangs on the entry. Without European type approval, compliance with the requirements in force here has to be evidenced separately.
The process, in order
The order is not arbitrary. Pull a step forward and you usually end up repeating it.
01Check the CO₂ figure
Before buying: does the registration document or the COC state the CO₂ output? The registration charge depends on that figure. If it is missing, the tax administration applies a substitute rule — and it rarely works out in the car's favour.
02Technical inspection
The imported car is presented at a licensed test centre. Technical condition and agreement with the papers are checked; the result is a precondition of the entry.
Handled by: Licensed test centre (techninės apžiūros įmonė)
03Pay the registration charge
A one-off charge is payable for the first Lithuanian registration of a passenger car, its amount following CO₂ output. The VMI administers it; Regitra asks for proof of payment before it registers the car.
Handled by: Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija (VMI)
04Take out compulsory insurance
Motor third-party cover has to be in place before the car is used on the road. It is recorded electronically and checked at the entry.
05Registration at Regitra
With the inspection report, the papers, proof of payment and insurance, Regitra enters the car and issues the plates. There is a deadline for registering after an acquisition, and it starts with the acquisition.
Handled by: Regitra
06Deregister in the country of sale
Deregistration and returning the plates happen where the car was registered, and are documented. Otherwise tax and insurance obligations keep running there.
What gets added
Without amounts, and deliberately so: official rates change, and a stale figure is worse than none. What is here is the basis of assessment — enough to calculate with, once the current rate is known.
- Registration charge on first entry
- Assessed on: One-off, on the first Lithuanian registration of a passenger car. Assessed on CO₂ output; where the papers do not state it, a substitute rule applies. Administered by the VMI, which is also where the current rate is stated.
- Does not apply: Does not arise on a change of keeper within Lithuania, nor for vehicle categories it does not cover.
- VAT
- Assessed on: On imports from outside the single market, on customs value plus duty; within the EU only for a fiscally new car. It is declared to the VMI.
- Does not apply: Does not apply to a used car from an EU state.
- Customs duty
- Assessed on: Only on import from outside the single market, on the customs value. The customs administration states the rate.
- Techninė apžiūra
- Assessed on: The test centre's price, by vehicle category and fuel. The centres are private and price differently.
- Registration and plates
- Assessed on: Regitra's fees for the entry, the documents and the plates; personalised plates cost extra.
- Third-party insurance
- Assessed on: The insurer's premium, by car, keeper and claims history.
The papers
Miss one of these and the appointment is wasted.
- Foreign registration document, parts I and II or the equivalent.
- Certificate of conformity (COC) — it carries the CO₂ figure the registration charge depends on.
- Purchase contract or invoice showing seller and price.
- Proof of deregistration in the country of sale and that the car is free of encumbrances.
- The keeper's ID; for residents the asmens kodas, for companies the registry number.
- Proof of third-party insurance and, where levied, of the registration charge.
Where the sum tips
- The missing CO₂ figure. Here it is not one detail among many but the basis of assessment. If the papers do not state it, a substitute calculation applies, and on an older car without manufacturer data the item can come out markedly higher than expected.
- The registration charge in the calculation. It falls due on the first Lithuanian entry, not on a domestic resale. Comparing domestic listings with an import means comparing one sum that contains this item with one that does not.
- The encumbered or still-registered car. A lien recorded abroad or a registration still running there blocks the entry — and both are settled with the seller, not at the counter.
- The tyres. Lithuania requires winter tyres within a defined period, and studded tyres have a period of their own. Tyre condition is checked at the technical inspection.
How long it takes
As an order of magnitude: one to two weeks from arrival with complete papers. Without a COC, or where the CO₂ figure is disputed, rather four to eight weeks.
The technical inspection
Techninė apžiūra
The technical inspection is the techninė apžiūra, carried out by licensed private test centres. For an imported car a comparison against the papers is added; a valid test from another EU state does not replace it for the entry. The interval afterwards depends on age and vehicle category.
Common questions
Which vehicles does the registration charge apply to?
It is provided for on the first Lithuanian registration of passenger cars and is assessed on CO₂ output. Which categories are covered in detail, and at what rate, is stated by the VMI — and only there is it current.
Is the inspection from the country of origin recognised?
Not for the entry — that also requires the comparison against the papers. Afterwards the car runs on the Lithuanian interval, whatever the date of the last foreign test.
Can I drive into Lithuania on the foreign plates?
For the transfer, on the selling country's temporary or export plates with valid insurance. Anyone resident in Lithuania has to register the car here within the period set after acquisition.
What about VAT on a young car?
If the car stays under the thresholds for first registration and mileage it counts as new for tax; VAT is then declared in Lithuania, even where it was already in the price abroad. For a used car from the EU this does not apply.
This overview is not a substitute for information from the competent authority. Rates, fees and deadlines change; the office that registers the car is always the binding source.