Recommendation 1 Recommendation 2 Recommendation 3 Recommendation 4

Recommendation 5 Recommendation 6 Recommendation 7 Recommendation 8

Market selection

Recommendation 7

Investor compliance with the laws and regulations in the home countries of their investments should be part of their regulators' due diligence process. They, in turn, should be treated equitably in the home country of their investments especially in respect to their rights to shareholder benefits and concessionary arrangements under double tax agreements.

1.	Do domestic regulators monitor the procedures in place at their locally based cross-border custodians to assure compliance with the laws and regulations of the home countries of their investments?	Securities Commission monitors by means of regular inspections of local custodians compliance of their foreign clients with the requirements on information about acquisition of a block of shares, on execution of tender offer in case they have acquired more than 50% of companies votes and on other legal requirements concerning non-residents (see Rec. 4 question 6).
2.	What are the areas (e.g. benefits, investor compensation) where foreign investors are not treated in the same way as local investors?	Foreign investors in all cases are treated like local investors except that by Law on Investment they can't invest in several economic industries: security and defence, manufacture and sale of narcotic or poisonous substances and organisation of gambling and lotteries.
3.	Can sales proceeds and income be repatriated without any restrictions?	Non-residents have the right to convert to foreign currency and repatriate the proceeds and profit after paying taxes without any restrictions.
4.	Are double tax agreements simple to apply, and do foreign investors receive promptly their full entitlement to dividends and interest payments?	Lithuania has signed international agreements including provisions on double taxation with more than 20 states. Issuers usually pay dividends after withholding tax. If required statements on behalf of a non-resident investor on double taxation treaty are presented prior to the transfer of dividends, a reduced withholding tax is applied. If those statements are presented after the transfer, the tax reclaim procedure can be executed through the tax authority. Interest payments currently are tax exempt. All payments to non-resident can be made directly or through the accounts of CSDL and broker.