In most cases, you must pay or report value added tax (VAT) when you import goods to Norway. The VAT rate is 25 per cent. Foodstuffs are an exception, for which the rate is 15 per cent.
| Note: An update of this article is pending. Please note that some terms and/or references may differ from the Movement of Goods Act and the Customs Duty Act that enters into force from the 1st of January 2023. |
Unless otherwise stipulated in the regulations, the obligation to pay tax does not only apply to goods that you import to Norway after they are purchased, but other goods that you bring with you, such as gifts, inherited goods, personal property, goods for rental or loan, or for repair or processing.
The Norwegian Tax Administration took over the administrative responsibility for import VAT as of 2017, which means that the import VAT shall be calculated and set in the domestic system for registered entities subject to VAT. Read more here.
The Norwegian VAT area is the Norwegian mainland and all areas within the territorial border. The exceptions are Svalbard, Jan Mayen and the Norwegian dependencies (Bouvetøya, Queen Maud Land and Peter 1 Island).
- See Section 3-29 of the Norwegian Value Added Tax Act
- See Section 1-1 of the Act on Customs duties and movement of goods
The obligation to pay tax on import applies only to goods. There are separate provisions for the import of services.
- You will find a definition of the term goods in Section 1-3 of the Norwegian Value Added Tax Act
- Read more about the term goods in the Norwegian Tax Administration’s Value Added Tax Handbook (only in Norwegian)
For some goods it is possible to obtain an exemption from value added tax on import.
You will find information on value added tax on import in the Norwegian Tax Administration's Value Added Tax Handbook (in Norwegian only)