The Concept of a Virtual Registered Office in EU Law: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The advancement of digital technologies leads to more legislative initiatives in this area. The 2018 draft law in Lithuania on the introduction of a virtual registered office was prepared but has not yet been approved and it is not clear whether it will be adopted. This article takes a closer look at the reasons for this, discusses the concept of a virtual registered office and analyses the future perspectives of its introduction. For this purpose, EU law as well as the laws of two jurisdictions, Lithuania and Estonia, are studied to evaluate the proper way in which this concept might be introduced. To this end, the concept of a registered office is assessed in more detail from different angles. The article proceeds with an analysis of the main functions of a virtual registered office and how they can be achieved: connection to applicable law and jurisdiction, and communication with third parties. Based on the above, the authors devise solutions and recommendations for EU law.