Private individuals may import beer, wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages for private use without applying for permission.
| 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. |
You may import beer, wine, spirits and other alcoholic beverages for private use without applying for permission.
In order to import alcoholic beverages you must be over 18 years of age. For spirits or other beverages above 22% alcohol by volume, you must be over 20 years of age.
If you are travelling
If you are travelling yourself, you may bring your quota without paying duty or taxes. Beyond the quota, you may declare a substantial amount using simplified declaration. You may use the declaration machines or pass through the red channel. You may also declare greater amounts than what is permitted by simplified customs declaration. In this case you must pay the regular duty and tax rates. Enquire in the red channel.
If alcohol is sent to you in a package/shipment
It is permitted to order alcohol from abroad for private use. In this case, you must pay regular duty and tax rates for the entire shipment. You may approach Norwegian Customs in order to declare the goods, or you may leave declaration to a forwarding agent. The forwarding agent will declare the goods for you.
Tax and duties must be paid even if the alcohol has been sent as a gift or is inheritance part of a moving load.
Calculation of duties and taxes
This is what you must pay when importing alcohol:
- Alcohol tax
- Packaging tax
- Freight
- VAT
- In some cases customs duties
- Any declaration fee to shipping agent/declarer (e.g. the postal service) according to their rates
Alcohol tax
In order to calculate the alcohol tax, you must know the alcoholic strength of the beverage you wish to import. There are five different tax rates:
| Alcoholic beverage | Alcohol by volume | NOK |
|---|---|---|
| Spirits based | above 0.7 | 8.22 per percentage alcohol by volume and litre |
| Light beer and other beverages | above 0.7 up to and including 2.7 | 3.31 per litre |
| Light beer and other beverages | above 2.7 up to and including 3.7 | 12.44 per litre |
| Beer and other beverages | above 3.7 up to and including 4.7 | 21.55 per litre |
| Wine and strong beer | above 4.7 up to and including 22.0 | 4.82 per percentage alcohol by volume and litre |
| Spirits | above 22.0 up to and inkluding 60 | 8.22 per percentage alcohol by volume and litre |
VAT
Vat on alcohol is 25 per cent of the total amount when you sum the
price of the product +
any duty and other taxes +
freight +
any insurance +
any fees, commissions or similar.
Some calculation examples of duties (rates from 2022)
Wine, one case (12 psc, 0.75 litre, 13% alcohol by volume)
| Purchase price: | NOK 600.00 |
| Freight: | NOK 300.00 |
| Special taxes: | |
| - alcohol tax, NOK 4.82 per percentage alcohol by volume and litre | NOK 563.94 |
| - environmental tax on beverage container (glass), NOK 6.28 per packaging unit |
NOK 75.36 |
| - base tax on single-use container, NOK 1.29 per packaging unit |
NOK 15.48 |
| VAT 25% | NOK 388.70 |
| Total due for payment: | NOK 1 943.48 |
Beer, one case (24 pcs 0.33 litre, 4.7% alcohol by volume)
| Purchase price: | NOK 120.00 |
| Freight: | NOK 300.00 |
| Special taxes: | |
| - alcohol tax, NOK 21.55 per liter | NOK 170.68 |
| - environmental tax on beverage container (metal), NOK 6.28 per packaging unit |
NOK 150.72 |
| - base tax on beverage container (metal), NOK 1.29 per packaging unit |
NOK 30.96 |
| Customs duty, NOK 1.28 per litre | NOK 10.14 |
| VAT 25% | NOK 195.63 |
| Total due for payment: | NOK 978.12 |
Spirits, one case (12 pcs, 0.70 litre, 40% alcohol by volume)
| Purchase price: | NOK 1 600.00 |
| Freight: | NOK 300.00 |
| Special taxes: | |
| - alcohol tax, NOK 8.22 per percentage alcohol by volume and litre | NOK 2 761.92 |
| - environmental tax on beverage container (glass), NOK 6.28 per packaging unit |
NOK 75.36 |
| - base tax on single-use container, NOK 1.29 per packaging unit |
NOK 15.48 |
| VAT 25% | NOK 1 188.19 |
| Total due for payment: | NOK 5 940.95 |
In addition there is a declaration fee, but this depends on who is responsible for freight and declaration.