Lithuania

The Vilnius office of pan-Baltic firm Cobalt has a tax practice led by partner Rokas Daugėla. With a total of six dedicated practitioners, the team is one of the largest in the Lithuanian market. The tax practice offers wide expertise and a full range of services including tax structuring, M&A transactions, transfer pricing matters, VAT and customs.

During the research period, the firm assisted Prosperus Asset Management with the purchase of Domus Pro, a Vilnius office and retail complex. The team also advised Union Asset Management on the purchase of BFIII Klaipeda.

Rasa Mikutienė, managing associate, began working with the firm during the research period.

Kristine Jarve, a tax partner at Deloitte, leads the Baltic teams. The team includes tax professionals as well as practitioners from the financial consulting, audit, and legal divisions, allowing it to provide full-service customer support.

During the research phase, the firm aided a large manufacturing company with the transition of its corporate income tax calculation method. The team aided a Lithuanian roofing manufacturer with complex communication with tax authorities on a tax review to defend the client's transfer pricing strategy and change of operational model.

Grant Thornton Baltic, with a team of four practitioners, is well known and recommended by auditors and lawyers in Lithuania as a firm with good transfer pricing advisory expertise and tools for benchmarking studies. The firm offers services in transfer pricing compliance, benchmarking studies, transfer pricing advisory, tax advisory, tax optimisations and tax due diligence. Vykintas Valiulis tax partner is an important member of the firm.

During the research period, the firm counselled notable clients on tax matters, all of which were kept confidential.

Client feedback

“Professional work, straight to the point, no hassle. All at acceptable pricing.”

Sorainen is an established firm in the Baltic States and is a member of WTS Global, an independent tax network represented in over 100 countries. Partner, Saulė Dagilytė, heads the Lithuanian office. The firm has expertise in multiple practice areas, including general tax advisory, customs, transfer pricing, disputes, tax structuring, real estate and M&A.

The firm recently assisted in the review of a new ESG-related business model of a mobility service provider. Furthermore, the team assisted a number of organisations that provide cryptocurrency-related services globally, as well as private individuals, on tax problems.

Senior associate Edgars Hercenbergs joined the company from Rödl & Partner during the research period, while senior associates Alisa Leškoviča and Rasa Mikutienė left.

Client feedback

“Experience and strong dedication to customer is very highly appreciated from our side. Due business intensity – we do need an advisor to meet short deadlines. One of our criteria in feedback is risk identification. So, with a qualified team they are able provide a full 360-degree view and see possible outcomes, which is the key for decision making.”

TGS Baltic is a pan-Baltic firm with more than 150 lawyers and offices in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The firm covers a range of practice areas, including M&A transactions, private equity, and other financial matters. In addition to the corporate tax team, it can advise on customs and transfer pricing. Partner Marijus Kriščiūnas leads the Lithuanian office.

The firm recently structured the Contrarian Ventures Net Zero 2022 fund. In addition, it advised InMedica, one of the major private healthcare providers, on the purchase of a plastic surgery clinic.

Marijus Kriščiūnas, partner of SBA Group, and Ramūnas Kontrauskas, partner of Marger Law Firm, joined the team during the research period, while partner Robertas Degesys, left.

WALLESS is an important full-service commercial legal company with offices throughout the Baltic States. The team is one of the largest among Lithuanian law companies, with eight professionals dealing with tax and financial accounting concerns. The practice is led by Aiste Medeliene and Mindaugas Lukas. It has extensive experience in a wide range of tax-related services such as compliance, audit, tax disputes, litigation, international tax, tax structuring, customs and transfer pricing.

During the research phase, the business assisted OP Grup on the sale of one of Lithuania's premier dental clinics. Furthermore, the team aided Šiaulių Bankas in the merger of a portion of the retail operations of second and third-pillar pension funds and mutual funds.

Glimstedt associate partner Edvard Gasperskij joined the team during the research period.

Client feedback

“They have lawyers with extensive knowledge of the field and regulation.”

“They dip deep only when they are sure about the outcome. They do not waste the client's time with unreal promises.”

“Amazing expertise and to-the-point advice. Very reliable and great to work with.”

“Walless tax advisor / partner Mindaugas Lukas is very client oriented, advice is provided in a simple and understandable manner and is tailor-made to the situation. Walless have network of the offices in other jurisdiction and have very good knowledge and experience in international taxation.”

“Walless has many advantages compared to other tax consultants that I dealt with. They are very fast to respond and get tasks done quickly. They listen very carefully to what the client says about the business and the matter/problem they face. They get business specifics very precisely and reflect it in a certain tax exercise. They prefer live talk instead of asking to fill in standard questionnaires (I think this is the reason why they get business and problem specifics so well). They know very well how processes work in the state authorities and that helps. They prepare high level documentation with not a single mistake left (either exercise point of view or grammatical). When a client comes with a question they try to understand what the client’s need is and find out possible solutions for that need, instead of just mechanically listing what law says about the case. Walless works directly and does not have a large structure, where the main work is done by inexperienced consultants.”

“They are the best partners for setting up strategic goals of the dispute and putting tactics in place. Their innovation and competence is the highest in the market. Also, the highest level you can imagine of drafting procedural documents and representing in the dispute’s oral hearing.”