Selling into Lithuania through distributors

How the market buys

Lithuanian public procurement runs through one state system. The Law on Public Procurement defines the Central Public Procurement Information System (Centrinė viešųjų pirkimų informacinė sistema, CVP IS) as the state information system in which procurement notices and reports are submitted and processed, procedures are carried out, and procurement plans, documents and contracts are published. The current system is at viesiejipirkimai.lt; the earlier portal at cvpp.eviesiejipirkimai.lt still shows older notices and their reports.

The Law sets a clear deadline for results: a notice of the conclusion of a procurement contract or framework agreement must be published no later than 30 days after the contract is concluded. Above the EU thresholds those notices also reach TED. For a manufacturer, that gives a dependable record of who is winning. Where the award notices in your category name a Lithuanian distributor or wholesaler rather than a manufacturer, that company already holds the customer relationships you want.

Lithuania ranks 33rd of 123 countries and regions in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index. A first approach in English is possible, but material in Lithuanian will carry further with buyers and end users.

Lawful first contact

Article 81 of the Law on Electronic Communications (elektroninių ryšių įstatymas, No IX-2135) governs direct marketing; its current wording, with the exception for legal persons, has applied since 22 April 2026 (Law No. XV-815), so older guidance that required consent from companies is out of date. Its first paragraph allows electronic communications services, including e-mail, to be used for direct marketing only with the prior consent of the subscriber or registered user. It then adds an exception: no such consent is needed where the subscriber or registered user is a legal person, but the legal person must be given a clear, free and easily exercisable opportunity to refuse further direct marketing by e-mail and other electronic means. A separate paragraph allows a business to market its own similar goods or services to existing customers who are natural persons, subject to an opt-out.

Paragraph three applies to every recipient: it forbids marketing e-mails that conceal the identity of the sender in breach of the Law on Information Society Services, that give no valid address to which the recipient can send a request to stop, or that encourage recipients to visit websites that do not meet that Law's requirements. The State Data Protection Inspectorate (VDAI) supervises the data-processing and privacy provisions of this part of the Law, Article 81 included, and can fine certain breaches of it.

So a first e-mail to a Lithuanian company is lawful without prior consent, provided it identifies your company, gives a valid address for opting out and offers an easy, free way to refuse. What Article 81 does not say is how an address in a named employee's name, such as vardas.pavarde@company.lt, is to be treated. The cautious reading is to write to the general address (info@ or sales@) and use named contacts after the distributor replies. Data protection law applies to any named person's details you process.

In practice: write briefly about what you make and why it fits the distributor's range, identify your company in full, include a working reply address and a one-line way to refuse, and record and respect every refusal.

What local distributors expect

Before a Lithuanian distributor takes on a new range, expect it to ask for:

• Product information in Lithuanian, which the State Language Law requires for goods sold in Lithuania (Article 17), with a complete English technical file behind it.
• Conformity evidence for the category: CE marking and declarations of conformity where the product is regulated, test reports and safety information.
• Documents ready for electronic procedures. Procedures run through CVP IS, so have certificates, declarations and data sheets ready in electronic form for the distributor's tenders.
• A clear commercial structure: margin, territory (Lithuania alone or the Baltic states together), account ownership and exclusivity.
• Logistics that suit the market: realistic minimum orders, reliable lead times and a plan for spare parts and service.

How to enter, step by step

1. Prepare the documentation. Provide product information in Lithuanian for the distributor's customers, with a complete English technical file behind it.
2. Make the conformity file electronic. Have CE marking and declarations of conformity, test reports and safety information ready in electronic form, because procedures run through CVP IS.
3. Find who already wins your category. Start with the award notices above the EU thresholds on TED for your CPV codes; Cresques reads these and lists the winning companies. National procedures and their results are in CVP IS at viesiejipirkimai.lt; older notices and reports remain on the earlier portal.
4. Ask about centralised purchasing. The Law on Public Procurement also provides for centralised purchasing through central purchasing bodies and for electronic catalogues. As of October 2026 we could not confirm from an official source how a supplier's products are listed in a central catalogue, so ask the distributor whether your category is bought that way.
5. Write the first e-mail to a general address. Use the company's general address, such as info@ or sales@, say briefly what you make and why it fits the distributor's range, identify your company in full, include a working reply address and a one-line way to refuse, and record and respect every refusal.
6. Keep named contacts for later. Article 81 does not say how an address in a named employee's name is treated, so use named contacts only after the distributor replies.
7. Prepare the first meeting. Bring a clear structure for margin, territory (Lithuania alone or the Baltic states together), account ownership and exclusivity, realistic minimum orders, reliable lead times and a plan for spare parts and service.
8. Follow the results. Notices of concluded contracts must be published within 30 days, so check CVP IS and TED regularly to see where the distributor wins.

Where the evidence comes from

Above the EU thresholds — EUR 140,000 for supplies and services bought by central government bodies and EUR 216,000 for other public authorities from 1 January 2026 — Lithuanian buyers must publish contract award notices, and those notices appear on TED, the online supplement to the Official Journal of the EU. Each notice names the winning company and carries CPV codes, so the distributors that repeatedly win, for example, medical supplies or furniture contracts in Lithuania can be identified from the public record. National procedures and their results are published in CVP IS.

Cresques reads the award notices for the CPV categories you choose and shows who already sells that category in Lithuania. It does not help you bid for the contracts; the notices are evidence of who the buyers already trust, and the lawful first contact above is how you reach them.