Annual Report for an SIA — How to Prepare and File It on Time in 2026
Latvia has roughly 180,000 limited liability companies (SIA), and every one of them must file an annual report each year. Despite that, many companies miss the deadline, file incomplete documents, or don't file at all every year — risking fines that can reach €2,000, and, in extreme cases, forced removal from the Commercial Register. This guide walks through everything you need to know about preparing and filing your annual report in 2026, step by step.
Key takeaways
The filing deadline depends on the company's category: micro and small companies — by May 31; medium and large companies — by July 31.
The annual report is filed only electronically, through VID's EDS system, as an XML file — and it can be filed only once. It can't be corrected after submission.
Penalties for a late or missing report are higher than commonly assumed — a repeat violation can reach €2,000.
If a report stays unfiled for a long time, the Register of Enterprises can start the process of forcibly removing the company from the Commercial Register.
The process from closing the books to filing an approved report usually takes 4–6 weeks — plan ahead.
What an annual report is and who must file one
An annual report is a structured set of financial documents that every registered legal entity prepares after the end of its reporting year. The minimum content: a balance sheet, a profit/loss statement, and notes to the financial statements. Larger companies also need a cash flow statement and a statement of changes in equity. The legal basis is the Annual Reports and Consolidated Annual Reports Law.
The report is filed with the State Revenue Service (VID) electronically through EDS. After filing, VID's data is automatically passed to the Register of Enterprises, making the report publicly accessible. Paper filing is effectively a thing of the past for active companies — since 2024, annual reports have been filed electronically only.
Who must file: all SIAs, joint-stock companies, cooperative societies, branches of foreign merchants, permanent representative offices, as well as sole proprietorships and farming enterprises if their turnover exceeds €300,000 a year.
Company categories — why they matter
The scope, level of detail, and filing deadline of an annual report depend directly on which category your SIA falls into. Latvia divides companies into four categories based on three criteria: total balance sheet value, net turnover, and average number of employees. A company is micro, small or medium if it does not exceed at least two of the three upper thresholds of that category; a company is large if it exceeds at least two of the three thresholds of a medium company (Annual Accounts Law, Section 5).
Category thresholds for 2026
Category | Total balance sheet | Net turnover | Average employees |
|---|---|---|---|
Micro | ≤ €450,000 | ≤ €900,000 | ≤ 10 |
Small | ≤ €5,000,000 | ≤ €10,000,000 | ≤ 50 |
Medium | ≤ €25,000,000 | ≤ €50,000,000 | ≤ 250 |
Large | Above medium | Above medium | Above medium |
Source: Annual Reports and Consolidated Annual Reports Law, Article 5; TEGOS, February 27, 2026. The criteria changed in 2024 — check which category your company falls into under the current thresholds.
Most new SIAs fall into the micro or small category, which means a simpler report and an earlier filing deadline.
How the category affects the report's content
Requirement | Micro | Small | Medium/Large |
|---|---|---|---|
Balance sheet | Mandatory | Mandatory | Mandatory |
Profit/loss statement | Mandatory | Mandatory | Mandatory |
Notes | Mandatory | Mandatory | Mandatory |
Management report | Not mandatory | Mandatory | Mandatory (large and listed companies — also a sustainability report) |
Cash flow statement | Not mandatory | Not mandatory | Mandatory |
Statement of changes in equity | Not mandatory | Not mandatory | Mandatory |
Mandatory audit | No | No (with exceptions) | Yes |
A micro company may skip the management report (if it gives the information on its own shares in the notes), and very small micro companies only need to attach notes to the financial statements. This significantly simplifies the process for small businesses.
Filing deadlines
The annual report filing deadline depends on the company's category:
Micro and small companies: by May 31 (5 months after the fiscal year ends; for the 2026 financial year — May 31, 2027)
Medium, large, and parent companies of a group: by July 31 (7 months after the fiscal year ends; for the 2026 financial year — July 31, 2027)
Source: Annual Reports and Consolidated Annual Reports Law, Article 97, Paragraph 1; Sorainen — The annual report filing deadline is approaching
These deadlines apply to companies whose fiscal year matches the calendar year (January 1 to December 31). If your SIA's fiscal year is different, the deadline is calculated from your fiscal year's end date.
Important: the deadline applies to filing an approved annual report, not just preparing one. That means several steps need to happen before filing: preparing the report, signing it, convening a shareholders' meeting (at least 14 days' notice for an SIA), approving the report, and only then filing it. Plan your time — the process can take 4–6 weeks.
What the annual report must include
Financial statements (mandatory for all categories)
Balance sheet — an overview of the company's assets and liabilities at the end of the reporting year. It shows what the company owns (assets) and how it's financed (equity and liabilities).
Profit or loss statement — a summary of income and expenses showing the company's financial performance for the reporting year. This is where you see whether the company operated at a profit or a loss.
Notes to the financial statements — detailed explanations of balance sheet and P&L items, a description of accounting policy, information on beneficial owners, and other information required by law. For micro companies, the notes must include at least: accounting policy, a statement of fixed asset movements, information on debts and provisions, and information on events after the balance sheet date.
Management report (for small, medium, and large companies)
The management report is a document prepared by the board that includes:
A description of the company's operations and an analysis of its financial results
Information on risks and future development prospects
A sustainability report — only for large companies and for medium and small (non-micro) companies whose securities are listed on a regulated market (Sustainability Information Disclosure Law, Article 3)
Important: micro companies don't need to prepare a management report unless the articles of association state otherwise. This is one of the main simplifications for small SIAs.
Additional statements (for medium and large companies)
Medium and large companies must additionally file a cash flow statement and a statement of changes in equity. These requirements don't apply to micro and small companies.
How to file the annual report in EDS — step by step
The annual report is filed electronically in VID's Electronic Declaration System (EDS). Paper filing is no longer accepted. Here's the step-by-step process.
1. Prepare the report in the correct format
The annual report must be prepared as an XML file. Most accounting software (including Pats.lv) generates this file automatically. The file must match a specific structure and required fields — EDS checks this automatically.
2. Log into EDS
Go to eds.vid.gov.lv and log in with your e-identification (eID, eParaksts, Smart-ID, or internet-bank authentication).
3. Choose the right form
Select "Documents" → "Annual Reports" and specify the reporting year. The system will offer the appropriate form based on your company's category.
4. Upload the XML file
Upload your prepared XML file. EDS automatically validates the file — checking that all required fields are filled in, that the math checks out (for example, assets = liabilities), and that the file matches the schema. If validation finds errors, the system will indicate what needs to be fixed.
5. Attach additional documents
If needed, attach the management report, the auditor's report, or other documents as PDFs.
6. Sign with an e-signature
The document must be signed with an e-signature (eID, eParaksts Mobile, or Smart-ID). It can be signed by a board member or an authorized person with the relevant authorization in EDS.
7. Submit the report
Once the document is signed, the report is sent to VID for review. The system automatically checks basic compliance, but a substantive review is carried out by a VID inspector.
Critically important: EDS only allows an annual report for a given reporting year to be filed once. Once filed, it can't be corrected, amended, or supplemented. So before submitting, carefully check all the data — amounts, years, totals, and how they relate to each other.
Common mistakes when filing the annual report
Mathematical mismatches — total assets don't match total liabilities, or the profit/loss statement result doesn't match the profit figure on the balance sheet. EDS won't accept such a report.
Wrong company category — if the wrong category is selected, VID may request clarification or reject the report because an insufficient set of documents was provided.
Missing mandatory attachments — for example, a micro company hasn't attached the mandatory notes, or a small company hasn't included a management report.
Wrong reporting year — when filing, make sure the correct reporting period is specified. A mistake here means rejection.
Missing signature or an unauthorized signer — the report can only be signed by a board member or a person authorized in EDS. If the signer isn't authorized, the document isn't valid.
Penalties for a late or missing annual report
VID can impose an administrative penalty for late filing of the annual report under Article 42 of the Accounting Law. Penalties are measured in "monetary penalty units" — one unit is €5 — and the amount depends on how long the delay is and whether the violation is a repeat one:
First violation, delay up to 6 months: a warning or a fine of 10–60 units (€50–300)
First violation, delay over 6 months: a fine of 61–90 units (€305–450)
Aggravating circumstances and no mitigating ones: a fine of 91–130 units (€455–650) if the report was filed before the case is reviewed, and 131–300 units (€655–1,500) if it was still unfiled by then
Repeat violation (the report is still unfiled by the time the case is reviewed): a fine of 301–400 units (€1,505–2,000)
A report that was filed but doesn't meet requirements: a fine of 5–130 units (€25–650)
These figures are significantly higher than commonly assumed — especially for a repeat violation, where the maximum fine can reach €2,000. That's an extra reason not to leave preparing the annual report until the last minute.
Source: VID — Guidelines on the application of administrative penalty sanctions; Accounting Law, Article 42
Forced liquidation — the most serious risk
If an annual report remains unfiled for a long time, the Register of Enterprises can start the process of forcibly removing the company from the Commercial Register (Commercial Law, Article 314.¹). In practice, this process takes roughly eight months, because it involves several stages: at least six months must pass since the violation (the missed deadline), VID or the Register of Enterprises must impose an administrative penalty, and the report must remain unfiled for another month after the penalty is imposed. After that, the Register of Enterprises publishes a notice in the official gazette "Latvijas Vēstnesis" with a final filing deadline. If the company doesn't respond, it's removed from the Commercial Register.
This isn't a theoretical scenario: the Register of Enterprises removes hundreds of companies this way every year. Reinstatement after removal requires a court application, legal costs, and considerable time — disproportionately more than filing the report on time would have taken.
Practical consequences of a delay
Banks. Latvian banks regularly check their clients' annual reports at the Register of Enterprises. A missing report can trigger an enhanced review, account restrictions, or a demand for immediate filing. Some banks include timely filing at the Register of Enterprises as a condition of their service agreement.
Public procurement. Companies without filed annual reports are automatically excluded from state and municipal procurement and tenders.
Reputation. Annual reports are publicly available. Potential partners, investors, and clients in your industry use them as a trust signal. A missing report signals significant management problems.
A practical timeline — when to start preparing
To avoid stress and delays, follow this approximate schedule (assuming the fiscal year ends December 31):
January–February — close out accounting balances, do the inventory count, reconcile debts with clients and suppliers
March — prepare a draft annual report (balance sheet, P&L, notes)
First half of April — finalize the report, include all required documents
Second half of April — convene the shareholders' meeting, approve the report
May — file the report in EDS (ideally by May 15–20, to avoid technical issues in the final days)
If your SIA had no activity during the reporting year (no transactions), an annual report still has to be prepared — with a balance sheet showing the state of the share capital. Even in that case, the report must be filed by May 31.
Frequently asked questions
Does an annual report need to be filed even if the SIA had no transactions?
Yes. Even a completely inactive company (no income or expenses) must prepare and file an annual report. The balance sheet will usually show only the share capital and the corresponding assets (cash in the bank account). The deadline is still May 31 in this case.
Is it really true that a micro company doesn't need to prepare a management report?
Yes — micro companies (meeting at least two of the three criteria: balance sheet ≤ €450,000, turnover ≤ €900,000, employees ≤ 10) are exempt from preparing a management report. But check your articles of association — if they state otherwise, a management report must be prepared regardless of category.
Can I file the annual report myself, without an accountant?
Technically, yes — the EDS system is available to any board member with an e-signature. But in practice, preparing an annual report requires specific accounting knowledge, since you need to understand the classification of balance sheet items, how provisions are formed, and how taxes are reflected. Most companies use an accountant's services to avoid mistakes.
How much does preparing an annual report cost?
Accountant services for preparing an annual report in 2026 cost from €150 to €500, depending on the size of the company, the number of transactions, and whether the accountant already handles monthly bookkeeping.
What happens if there's an error in the report and it's already been filed?
EDS only allows an annual report to be filed once per reporting year. If you discover a significant error after filing, you need to contact VID and explain the situation. In certain cases, VID may allow a corrected report to be filed, but the procedure is handled case by case, takes time, and isn't guaranteed. It's better to check everything before filing.
Does it also need to be filed with the Register of Enterprises?
No — since 2024, the annual report is filed only with VID electronically through EDS. VID's data is automatically passed to the Register of Enterprises, so a separate filing there is no longer necessary.
An annual report isn't just a formality — it's a document that demonstrates your company's viability and solvency. Filing it on time and correctly protects you from fines, preserves your bank's trust, and keeps the door open to public procurement. Get in touch with Balansis — we help with preparing and filing annual reports from A to Z.
Related reading: missing a VID deadline and how much accounting costs.
Legal sources and references
Annual Reports and Consolidated Annual Reports Law — company categories (Article 5), filing deadlines (Article 97)
VID — Guidelines on the application of administrative penalty sanctions — penalty amounts under Article 42 of the Accounting Law
VID — Annual report filing deadline extended for micro companies and small companies
Last updated: September 2026. Information based on the Annual Reports and Consolidated Annual Reports Law, the Accounting Law, and official VID materials.
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