SMEs in Public Procurement

26. Lithuania

26.1. SMEs in the national economy

SMEs in Lithuania are defined by the Republic of Lithuania Law on Small and Medium-sized Business Development (Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, 2017[1]). The law defines micro-enterprises as businesses with fewer than 10 employees and less than EUR 2 million in annual turnover; small enterprises as businesses with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover below EUR 10 million; and medium-sized enterprises as those with fewer than 250 employees and less than EUR 50 million in annual turnover (Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, 2017[1]).

SMEs in Lithuania are significant actors in the “non-financial business economy”. They contribute to more than three-fourths of total employment and approximately 70% of value added.

Table ‎26.1. Basic figures of the non-financial business economy of Lithuania, 2015

	Number of enterprises		Number of persons employed		Value added
	Number	Share	Number	Share	(in billion EUR)	Share
Total	157 121	100.0%	912 424	100.0%	13.1	100.0%
SMEs	156 820	99.8%	695 446	76.2%	9.2	70.3%
Micro	143 843	91.5%	249 289	27.3%	2.3	17.3%
Small	10 913	6.9%	230 129	25.2%	3.3	25.0%
Medium-sized	2 064	1.3%	216 030	23.7%	3.7	28.1%
Large	301	0.2%	216 978	23.8%	3.9	29.7%

Note: These are estimates for 2015 produced by DIW Econ, based on 2008-13 figures from the Structural Business Statistics Database (Eurostat). The data cover the non-financial business economy, which includes industry, construction, trade, and services (NACE Rev. 2 sections B to J, L, M and N), but not enterprises in agriculture, forestry or fisheries, or largely non-market service sectors such as education and health. The advantage of using Eurostat data is that the statistics are harmonised and comparable across countries. The disadvantage is that for some countries the data may be different from those published by national authorities.

Source: (European Commission, 2017[2]).

26.2. National policy framework to support SMEs in public procurement

The new version of the Lithuanian public procurement law came into force 1 May 2017, transposing EU Directive 2014/24/EU (Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, 2017[1]). The new law promotes SMEs participation in public procurement.

The Strategy of Lithuanian Public Procurement System Development and Growth during 2009-13, which aimed at ensuring the transparency and efficiency of public procurement, promotes SMEs participation, green procurement and innovation. The main goals relating to SME participation in public procurement were achieved, and new strategy was not passed.

26.3. Implementation mechanisms

The Public Procurement Office prepares recommendations and guidelines for proper implementation of the Law on Public Procurement. This includes educational material that is accessible on line (educational films, tests, briefings on certain issues, infographics, etc.). All these documents are free of charge and freely available in the Central Public Procurement Information System and on the Public Procurement Office website.

26.4. Monitoring performance

In 2014, the Ministry of Economy published guidelines on innovative public procurement. These guidelines describe how public procurers can buy goods, services or works of better quality that are more adapted to their needs, and services or goods that could enhance the performance of public procurers and the quality of their services, and increase demand for innovation on the market. There are no special provisions for SMEs.

No methodology is used to undertake assessment of SMEs in public procurement. The Strategy of Lithuanian Public Procurement System Development and Growth during 2009-13 has been prepared through collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders, including from the business sector. In 2014 the percentage of contracts awarded to SMEs was 78.3%. In the following years such an analysis has not been conducted.

Figure ‎26.1. Contracts awarded to SMEs in Lithuania, 2014-16

Note: Data available online at: https://2007.cpo.lt/index.php?option=com_reports&task=report&rid=vpt_2012&btn_annualReportShow=1.

Source: Country response to the 2017 OECD survey on strategic use of public procurement to support SMEs.

References

[2] European Commission (2017), SBA Fact Sheets 2016, http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/22382.

[1] Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania (2017), Small and Medium-Sized Business, https://ukmin.lrv.lt/en/sector-activities/business-environment/small-and-medium-sized-business (accessed on 02 July 2018).