Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania has now become the destination of choice for many Tech Startups as well as top companies such as Danske Bank, Western Union, Nasdaq, Booking.com, due to the favourable regulatory and business environment.
Setting up a business in Lithuania is straightforward, as most operations can be done remotely. A company can be set up electronically in just a few days, as long as all your documentation is in order.
The easy part is to incorporate. It is altogether another matter to comply with specific Lithuanian and European Union regulations regarding activities performed by your company. Necessary policies and procedures include, but are not limited to:
- Data protection (GDPR) and information security policies.
- Workplace health, safety and security policy.
- Employee code of conduct, disciplinary action, remuneration policies and procedures.
- Outsourcing policies.
- Compliance policies and procedures.
- Organizational structure policy of the Company.
- Decision-making procedures and policies in the Company.
- Policies to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/TF), relevant risk assessment and management procedures, KYC & CDD policies.
- Procedures and policies for internal reporting and communication in the Company.
- Procedures for the separation of functions in the Company.
- A description of the resources (particularly human and technical) allocated to the various activities planned.
- Organizational policies and procedures.
- An explanation of how the entity will comply with its prudential and performance requirements by Lithuanian and EU law.
- Procedures for ensuring the qualifications of employees.
- Product management procedures and policies.
- Accounting procedures and policies.
- Procedures for the creation, storage, and retrieval of data on services provided, activities performed and transactions concluded.
- A description of the Company's performance monitoring systems, including back-up systems.
- Business continuity plans, including systems and human resources (key personnel).
- Records management, recording and storage policies.
- A description of the procedures manual.
- Policies on conflict of interest.
- Complaints handling policy.
Most of the time, your company will need at least several of the written policies and procedures listed above to comply with the regulations, regardless of the activities that your company will perform. Non-compliance will lead to fines by governmental supervisory authorities, also to other consequences.
A skilled lawyer will provide initial drafts and guidance to direct your company the right way from the beginning to comply with the Lithuanian and EU regulation, to avoid costly mistakes.
