Omnibus & Price-Reduction Rules in Lithuania
Omnibus DirectiveIf you sell to customers in Lithuania, the Omnibus Directive shapes how you are allowed to advertise a discount. The measure is Directive (EU) 2019/2161, and its rules have applied across the European Union since 28 May 2022. Unlike a Regulation, a Directive has to be written into each country’s own law, so in Lithuania the substance reaches you through Lithuanian legislation and is overseen by a Lithuanian authority. This guide explains the parts of the Omnibus rules that matter most to an ordinary online shop selling into Lithuania.
The rule that gets the most attention is the one about price reductions. When you announce a discount, you have to be honest about what the item cost before.
The 30-day lowest prior price
The core requirement is straightforward once you see it. Whenever you announce a price reduction, you must also show the lowest price you charged for that product in the 30 days before the reduction. The discount is measured against that prior low, not against a figure you have just invented. It is the rule that stops a shop from quietly nudging a price up for a week and then presenting the return to normal as a generous saving.
- Show the earlier “reference” price alongside the new, reduced price.
- That reference is the lowest price applied in the previous 30 days, not the highest or the usual price.
- The rule applies to any announcement of a reduction — banners, product pages, category badges and campaign emails alike.
The point is not to ban discounts. It is to make sure a “was” price genuinely reflects what customers could recently have paid. Our complete Omnibus guide works through the mechanics in more detail.
Beyond price: the wider Omnibus duties
The price-reduction rule is the headline, but the Omnibus Directive tightened several other points of online selling. These reach any shop that runs reviews, ranks products or hosts other sellers.
- If you show consumer reviews, you must say whether and how you check that they come from real buyers.
- If you rank search results, you must disclose the main parameters behind the ranking, and flag any paid placement.
- If you run a marketplace, you must make clear whether a third-party seller or you are the trader, so buyers know who their consumer rights sit with.
The Lithuanian layer
Because the Omnibus Directive is transposed into national law, the enforcement in Lithuania is Lithuanian. The authority responsible for consumer-protection matters of this kind is the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority, known by its Lithuanian initials as VVTAT. It is the body that supervises unfair commercial practices, including misleading price reductions, in the Lithuanian market. Our Lithuania country hub covers more on selling into this market.
The other Lithuanian point is language. Consumers in Lithuania expect consumer-facing information in Lithuanian, so the way you present a price reduction — the reference price, any “was” and “now” labelling, the explanation of a discount — should be clear in Lithuanian for the Lithuanian market. Getting the substance right in another language does not help a customer who cannot read it.
What Lithuanian-facing shops can do now
Meeting the Omnibus price rule is mostly a matter of good record-keeping and honest presentation. A short review will usually cover it.
- Keep a price history for each product so you can identify the lowest price in the previous 30 days.
- Show that prior low as the reference whenever you advertise a reduction.
- Review how you present reviews, rankings and any marketplace sellers against the wider Omnibus duties.
- Make sure all of this reads clearly in Lithuanian for your Lithuanian customers.
National transposition and enforcement practice can develop over time, so treat the local detail as something to revisit rather than settle once. For the full picture, see our complete Omnibus guide.
This guide is educational, not legal advice.