Café or bar alcohol licence in Lithuania: changes, suspension, revocation
A café or bar licence for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages is issued for an unlimited period, but it is valid only at the place and on the terms written into it (Article 16(3) and (6) of the Law on Alcohol Control of the Republic of Lithuania (AKĮ)). If you change the address of the outlet, the trading hours or the storage address, the licence must be supplemented. If the company changes its name or legal form, or is reorganised, the licence must be corrected (point 28.2, point 29 and point 32¹ of the Rules on Licensing Wholesale and Retail Trade in Alcohol Products, the “Licensing Rules”). The rights under a licence cannot be transferred to another person (AKĮ Article 17(5)), so a business that takes over a café needs its own licence. If you stop selling alcohol, or pause it for at least one year, you must apply within 30 days to have the licence suspended or revoked (AKĮ Article 18⁶(7)). The licence is supplemented, corrected, suspended and revoked by the authority that issued it, that is, the mayor of the municipality or the municipal administration authorised by the mayor (AKĮ Article 16(3), Article 34(22)).
How the licence is obtained, what conditions apply to the applicant and when it is refused are covered on our page Café and restaurant licences.
What the licence records and why it matters
Licences are issued, supplemented and corrected, and are the subject of warnings, suspension and revocation, by the mayor of the municipality or the municipal administration authorised by the mayor (AKĮ Article 16(3)). The licence must state the groups of alcoholic beverages you may sell and the place where they are sold and stored (AKĮ Article 16(6)).
It is prohibited to sell alcohol products that are not entered in the licence (AKĮ Article 17(1)(2)). It is prohibited to carry on the licensed activity or to store the beverages anywhere other than the place stated in the licence (AKĮ Article 17(15)). The holder must also keep to the trading hours stated in the licence (point 37 of the Licensing Rules).
When the licence must be supplemented
The licence is supplemented if you change or add storage addresses, or change the trading hours, the method of sale, or the name or address of the outlet (point 28.2 of the Licensing Rules). You file an application with the municipality and, where required, the consent of the residents of the apartment building (point 23.2 of the Licensing Rules). A decision on supplementing the licence must be taken within 15 working days of the documents being filed (point 28.3 of the Licensing Rules).
If the municipality renames the street or renumbers the building, and the data update automatically between registers and can be seen in the Licence Information System, you do not need to apply (point 29¹ of the Licensing Rules).
Beverage groups. Licence types differ by beverage group. For example, a licence to sell only beer, beer mixes and naturally fermented cider of no more than 8.5% alcohol is a separate type, and the right to sell stronger beverages belongs to other licence types (AKĮ Article 15¹(1)(3)–(5)). Point 28.2 of the Licensing Rules does not list beverage groups among the cases for supplementing a licence. Before widening your range, ask the municipality whether you will need a licence of a different type.
If the municipal council prohibits alcohol sales at your outlet or in your area, you must apply either to supplement the licence, if you are moving the trade elsewhere, or to have it suspended or revoked (point 37¹ of the Licensing Rules).
When the licence is corrected
The licence is corrected when you change the registered office, legal form or name stated in it, or receive a new company code, provided the other identifying data stay the same (point 32¹ of the Licensing Rules). If these data update automatically between registers and can be seen in the Licence Information System, no application is needed (point 29 of the Licensing Rules). The licence is also corrected when the holder is reorganised and the data in the licence change as a result (point 29 of the Licensing Rules). A decision on correction must be taken within 3 working days of the documents being filed (point 32 of the Licensing Rules).
If the municipal council restricts the hours of alcohol sales, the authority that issued the licence must correct it and inform you within 3 working days of the council decision (AKĮ Article 18⁶(3)).
What happens to the licence when you sell the business or lose the premises
The licence is not transferable. The law prohibits authorising others to carry on the licensed activity or transferring that right by contract (AKĮ Article 17(5)). Breaching this prohibition leads to revocation (AKĮ Article 34(19)(3)).
The company’s shares are sold. The licence holder does not change, and the licence stays. If the manager changes, you must notify the authority that issued the licence within 10 working days of the new manager starting work (AKĮ Article 18⁶(2)). If it turns out that the new manager received an administrative penalty within the last year, or has an unspent conviction, for the alcohol-related offences listed in the law, the company is warned that the licence may be revoked (AKĮ Article 34¹(6)). If the manager is not replaced within the time set, the licence is revoked (AKĮ Article 34(19)(4)).
The business or the café is sold as assets. The buyer may sell alcohol only with its own licence (AKĮ Article 16(3)). In an apartment building, the buyer may not need the residents’ consent if the business that previously operated in the same premises held a licence, there were no complaints that led to penalties still in force, and neither the trading hours nor the type of activity change. This exception does not apply if no alcohol was sold there for more than one year before the application (AKĮ Article 18¹(4)(5)). The seller, having stopped trading, must apply within 30 days to have the licence suspended or revoked (AKĮ Article 18⁶(7)). A licence is also revoked on the holder’s own application (AKĮ Article 34(19)(7)).
You lose the premises. Once you lose the premises, you can no longer sell alcohol at that place (AKĮ Article 17(15)). The State Food and Veterinary Service (Valstybinė maisto ir veterinarijos tarnyba, VMVT) then cancels your registration as a food business operator for that place (Article 4¹(9)(5) of the Law on Food of the Republic of Lithuania (MĮ)). Within 30 days of stopping trade, apply to have the licence suspended or revoked (AKĮ Article 18⁶(7)), or, if you move the trade within the same municipality, apply to supplement the licence with the new address (point 28.2 of the Licensing Rules).
The company is liquidated. The licence is revoked when the company is liquidated or removed from the Register of Legal Entities (AKĮ Article 34(19)(8)). We describe how liquidation starts in Starting a UAB liquidation.
When the licence is suspended
Warning. If you do not report a new manager in time, or do not apply for suspension or revocation in time after stopping trade, you are warned that the licence may be suspended (AKĮ Article 34¹(2)). The warning sets a time limit to fix the problem of no less than 10 days (point 54 of the Licensing Rules).
Suspension. The licence is suspended if you do not fix the stated breaches in time. The suspension period may be no shorter than 10 days and no longer than 30 days (AKĮ Article 34¹(4)(1)). You must remove the breaches within the time limits set in AKĮ Article 34¹(4)(1), and the authority that suspended the licence sets the exact time limit according to the nature of the breaches (point 56 of the Licensing Rules, as amended by Government Resolution No 530 of 26 June 2024). The licence for an outlet is also suspended when VMVT suspends your registration as a food business operator for breaches (AKĮ Article 34¹(4)(2)).
Suspension at your request. Suspending the activity means not selling alcohol at retail for a period of at least one year (AKĮ Article 18⁶(7)). In that case the licence is suspended for the period you state or indefinitely. If the municipality finds that you stopped trading without telling it, it suspends the licence itself (AKĮ Article 34¹(10)).
Lifting the suspension. The suspension is lifted when, having removed the breaches within the time set by the municipality or resumed trading, you notify the municipality, or when the municipality receives VMVT’s notice that the suspension of your registration has been lifted (AKĮ Article 34¹(12)). It is lifted within 3 working days of the application or notice being received (AKĮ Article 34¹(13)).
When the licence is revoked
Besides the cases above, the licence is revoked if:
- it turns out that you gave incorrect data to obtain it (AKĮ Article 34(19)(1));
- you did not remove, within the time set, the breaches for which the licence was suspended (AKĮ Article 34(19)(2));
- you trade in or store beverages at a place not stated in the licence (AKĮ Article 34(19)(5));
- you were warned of possible revocation and did not remove the breaches in time (AKĮ Article 34(19)(9));
- VMVT cancelled your registration for breaches (AKĮ Article 34(19)(6));
- you sell beverages not entered in the licence, or beverages without the mandatory purchase or transport documents (AKĮ Article 34(16));
- at the same outlet, within three years of the first fine, you again breached the ban on selling alcohol to persons under 20 (AKĮ Article 34(18), Article 18(4)(3)).
In the last two cases the licence is revoked for the outlet where the breach was found, and no new licence is issued for one year. After revocation on certain grounds, including liquidation, you must take stock of unsold beverages within 5 working days with an official of the State Tax Inspectorate (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija, VMI) present. This does not apply where the licence is revoked for a company already removed from the register. The revocation date is set no later than 30 days ahead (point 59 of the Licensing Rules). Revocation does not release you from fines already imposed (AKĮ Article 34(21)).
The municipality notifies you of the revocation within 3 working days and gives the reasons (point 60 of the Licensing Rules). You may appeal a decision to suspend or revoke the licence under the Law on Administrative Proceedings (point 52.3 of the Licensing Rules).
How to start
Send us a copy of your current licence, any letter from the municipality, and a short note of what is changing: the address, trading hours, manager, owner or premises.
Phone +370 5 212 1506, email info@linden.lt
More about this service: Licence for the retail sale of alcohol.
