As from January 2015 – new amendments to the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania, which extend the requirements for notarial form of transactions.

Lithuanian Parliament adopted amendments to the Civil Code (Project No. XIIP-248 (2), limiting the possibilities for initiating false fraud-related criminal offenses and aligning the provisions of the Civil Code with the introduction of the euro in Lithuania. Together with the aforementioned changes in the Civil Code, laws amending the Law on Companies and Law on Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes have been adopted respectively (accordingly the projects No. XIIP-249 (2) No. XIIP-250 (2) to the Law on Companies and Law on Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes).

Amendments to the Civil Code stipulate that Article 1.74 of Civil Code from the above-mentioned date determines that contracts of purchase and sell on limited liability company‘s shares, when 25 or more per cent of limited liability company‘s shares are being purchased, or the price of purchasable shares is in excess of EUR 14 500,00 (fourteen thousand five hundred euros), such transactions shall be drawn up in the notarial form. Notarial form shall not be mandatory in case personal securities accounts are managed according to the procedure laid down in the legal acts regulating the securities market.

As from 1 January 2015 The Article 1.105 of the Civil Code also provides that that promissory note with value in excess of EUR 3 000 (three thousand) EUR, shall be drawn up in the notarial form, if its drawer – natural person or entity – manages accounting according to simplified accounting procedures.

In addition, if the loan amount is in excess of 3000 (three thousand) EUR, and the transaction is in cash, the loan agreement must be drawn up in the notarial form.

Amendments to the Civil Code came into force on 1 January, 2015.