LITHUANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Evaldas Klimas and Vygintas Kuprys, WALLESS
2.11 Legal Restrictions on Foreign Investors A foreign investor wishing to acquire land must comply with the criteria of European and trans - atlantic integration. A legal person is required to be established in, or a natural person is required to hold the citizenship or a permanent residency of, countries that are not part of political, military, economic or other unions or alliances of states established on the basis of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and that are members of at least one of the following organisations and treaties: • the European Union (EU); • the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO); • the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA); or • the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A list of land for which acquisition is restricted for foreign investors is defined by law (nature reserves, state parks, special economic zones, etc). Foreign investors may use and hold (without owning) land on some other legal basis (eg, leas - ing) without restrictions.
EUR5,000. If more than one real estate unit is subject to the same sale and purchase agree - ment, the notary fee may not exceed EUR12,000. The registration fee for ownership of the real estate with the Real Estate Register for legal persons is based on the value of the real estate and may not exceed EUR17.19 per unit. The notary costs are typically shared by the buyer and the seller in equal parts. The transfer of at least 25% of shares in the property-owning company is also subject to notarisation, except in the following cases: • when the personal securities accounts of the shareholders of the private limited company have been transferred for management to a legal person who is entitled to open and man - age personal accounts for financial instru - ments; and • when the price for shares is less than EUR14,500. The notary fee for the acquisition of shares is equal to 0.26% of the transaction value and can - not exceed the established cap of EUR5,000. A mortgage/pledge of real estate and/or shares in the company is always subject to notarisation. However, notary fees for the mortgage of real estate as well as shares, based on the value of the object, may not be more than EUR360. These taxes are also applied in the case of a par - tial ownership transfer and there are no exemp - tions.
3. Real Estate Finance 3.1 Financing Acquisitions of Commercial Real Estate
The acquisition of commercial real estate in Lithuania is financed by both equity and debt, with the ratio between them depending on the market. Equity is often provided downstream in the form of shareholder loans, which are expected to be
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