Information update on measures for cultural and creative sectors affected by COVID-19 outbreak

General measures relevant for the cultural and creative sectors

1.

The State Tax Inspectorate has announced a list of companies most affected by COVID-19. Affected companies that have accumulated taxes before the end of the emergency and for two months after that, will be automatically, without request, exempted from default interest and no tax recovery actions will be initiated

State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance

https://www.vmi.lt/evmi/en/home

On-going

2.

Self-employed residents whose economic activity is included in the list of economic activities most affected by COVID-19 and who accumulated taxes from March 16 until the end of the emergency and two months after that, will be automatically, without request, exempted from default interest and no tax recovery actions will be initiated

State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance

https://www.vmi.lt/evmi/en/home

On-going

3.

Compensation of up to 100 % of loan interest with annual interest rate up to 7 %;

state-funded soft loans for SMEs; guarantees for financial services provided by financial institutions

INVEGA

https://invega.lt/en/

On-going

4.

Subsidies for employers to maintain jobs: 

90% of the employee’s accrued salary but not more than EUR 607 gross or 70% of the employee’s accrued salary but not more than EUR 910.5 gross

Employment Services under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour

https://uzt.lt/en/

On-going

5.

Flat-rate allowance of EUR 257 per month for self-employed persons who have no employment relationship and do not receive any work-related income

Employment Services under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour

https://uzt.lt/en/

On-going

6.

Partial compensation of lease payments for businesses most affected by COVID-19

EUR 100 million

INVEGA

https://invega.lt/en/covid-2019/financial-measures-business-covid-19-crisis/compensation/partial-compensation-lease-payments-businesses-affected-covid-19/

On-going

7.

Subsidies to micro-enterprises

(linked with personal income tax paid in 2019; subsidy starts at 500 EUR and could amount to the half of personal income tax paid by the applicant in 2019 with the ceiling of up to 200.000 EUR of total state-aid during three last fiscal years)

EUR 100 million

Ministry of the Economy and Innovation,

Ministry of Finance, State Tax Inspectorate,

Lithuanian Business Support Agency,

Competition Council, National Centre of General Functions under the Ministry of Finance.

http://eimin.lrv.lt/en/news/enterprises-with-up-to-nine-employees-will-be-able-to-receive-subsidies

On-going

8.

Compensation of tickets for events that could not take place due to covid-19

Law on the effects of the quarantine in relation to COVID-19 (Coronavirus infection) on the implementation of the contracts for the provision of events organization services, adopted by the Parliament on 30/4/20, No. XIII-2876

(Lietuvos Respublikos Dėl Covid-19 (koronaviruso infekcijos) paskelbto karantino sukeltų pasekmių poveikio vartojimo sutarčių dėl renginių organizavimo paslaugų teikimo vykdymui įstatymas)

Link to the legal act: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/3caf53038f9a11eaa51db668f0092944?jfwid=j4ag08j7

Main provisions of the Law:

• Where the event does not take place due to prohibitions imposed during quarantine (during the period of prohibitions established during quarantine and

within a period of 3 months from the lifting of the quarantine prohibitions which have made it impossible or significantly more difficult to organize the event), the service provider shall have the right to set a later date for the event within 30 days of the lifting of that prohibition.

• The event must take place within a reasonable time from the original date of the event, but no later than 12 months after the lifting of the quarantine prohibitions that have made it impossible or significantly more difficult to organize the event. In this case, the service provider is not entitled to charge the consumer with any additional fees.
• The consumer shall have the right to notify the service provider no later than 60 days after the service provider announces the later date of the event that he/she does not agree with the later date set by the service provider. In this case the service provider shall reimburse the consumer no later than within 30 days from the date of the receipt of the consumer notification by providing the consumer with a coupon of at least the amount paid for the ticket without any additional charges. With the coupon, the consumer can pay for the ticket price or part of the ticket price for future events organized by the same service provider.
• If the consumer does not pay the ticket price or part of the ticket price for future events organized by the same service provider with the coupon within 12 months from the date of issue of the coupon, he/she shall request the service provider no later than within 14 days after the expiry of this period for the return of money equal to the value of the coupon.
• Where the provider does not set a later date for the event, the consumer shall have the right to demand that the service provider reimburses the consumer for the ticket price no later than 14 days after the end of the period of exercise of the service provider's right.