Glossary

SIA (Latvian limited liability company)

In Latvian: SIA (sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību)

Companies Updated

An SIA (sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību) is a Latvian private limited company: a capital company whose shares are not publicly traded and whose members are not personally liable for its debts. It becomes a legal person on the day it is entered in the Commercial Register.

The Commercial Law sets the minimum share capital of an SIA at EUR 2,800. Since 1 July 2023 the founders pay up all the share capital fixed in the memorandum before they file the registration application. A smaller capital is allowed only when the founders and members are at most five natural persons, every board member is a member, and each member holds shares in only one such company.

An SIA is run by the meeting of members and the management board; a supervisory board exists only if the articles of association provide for one. The company answers for its obligations with all its property, while a member risks only what they put in. Board members can be liable for losses they cause the company if they did not act as a careful and prudent manager.

An SIA is a legal form, not a tax regime. It cannot opt for the micro-enterprise tax, which is open only to sole proprietors and other natural persons, and whether it must register for VAT depends on its turnover.

Example

Two friends found SIA "Ozols" with EUR 2,800 of share capital, 1,400 shares of EUR 1 each. Before filing with the Enterprise Register they pay the full EUR 2,800 into the account opened for the company being founded. If the SIA later cannot pay a supplier, the creditor can claim against the company's property, not against the members' own property.

How Fakts handles it

Fakts keeps its own mirror of the Enterprise Register, refreshed every night from data.gov.lv, so a client's name, registration number and legal address are filled from official records.

Legal basis

This explanation is for information and does not replace tax or legal advice. The law in its current consolidated text prevails.