Latvia » The Purchase Process

Incentives to invest in Latvia comprise direct incentives such as various tax incentives, the ability to acquire real estate, the existence of special economic zones and free ports and EU aligned customs and other commercial procedures, but also indirect incentives such as numerous international agreements on the mutual promotion and protection of investments, World Trade Organisation membership, agreements regarding protection of intellectual property rights, trade marks etc. and the simplification of regulations regarding visas, work permits and other administrative matters related to inward investment.

The steps and procedure for the purchase of property are described below.

The buyer should request from the seller or from the Land Registry an updated extract from the relevant folio of the Land Registry, which allows the buyer to verify the title of the seller and the legal rights attached to the real estate.

The seller should request a cadastral value statement of the real estate. Such statement is issued by the State Land Service. Parties must also obtain from State Land Service a certificate confirming connection of the building with the land plot. A new inventory file of the building must be obtained from the State Land Service if the existing inventory file is older than 5 years. This will take about 30 days and cost an extra LVL 100.

• To receive the statement the following documents shall be submitted to the State Land Service:
• Title certificate issued by the Land Registry Unit
• Land boundaries plan
• Building inventory file
• Power of attorney to represent the company before the State Land Service

The seller and the buyer shall notarise the copies of their registration certificate, articles of association and VAT registration certificates. The seller and the buyer shall obtain an official statement from the Company Register of Latvia certifying the persons that are entitled to sign on behalf of the company.

The seller shall obtain from the local municipality a confirmation on payment of real estate tax for the property. Previously, a real estate sales agreement is signed by the parties. The purchase agreement can be prepared by the parties, by a lawyer or by a public notary. In the last two cases, the documentation obtained in procedures 2-4 should be presented to the lawyer/notary that will take between 3 and 10 days on average to prepare the sales agreement. The fees will depend on the lawyer/notary. Even if a lawyer or notary is not required, it is common practice to hire one to prepare the agreement. In order to receive the statement, the following documents shall be submitted to the municipality: real estate sales agreement application to the municipality.

The parties submit the signed real estate sales agreement to the municipality for a decision on its first refusal rights. This usually has no charge. The parties sign and a notary attests the application for the registration of the buyer's title with the land registry or Land Book The registration application should contain the authorization to the person that is entitled to perform the registration procedures.

The state fee for registration and the stamp duty are paid at any commercial bank before submitting documents to the Land Register. Receipt of payment should be submitted with the registration documents. The parties submit the documents obtained in the previous procedures to the Land Registry Unit of the Land Book. After reviewing all submitted documents a Land Book judge adopts a decision on registration of change of ownership rights and issues a new Land Book Certificate.