You do not pay customs duty or VAT on books for your own private use.
| 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. |
Exemption from VAT also generally applies to:
- newspapers and magazines
- comics published in book form
- song books
- audiobooks with the same content as a printed book
Exemptions do not apply books sold together with another product and which are part of a common product unit.
Examples
- You pay VAT on a book that you order with a t-shirt as a single item with a common price.
- You do not pay VAT if you order a book simultaneously with other items from the same store, and where the book is ordered independently of the other goods.
It can sometimes be difficult to know what qualifies as a book or not.
Examples of what is not considered to be a book
- music sheets
- photo books
As of 1 January 2017 the administrative responsibility for VAT on imports has been transferred from Norwegian Customs to the Norwegian Tax Administration. Please visit the Norwegian Tax Administration's webpage for further information regarding the exemption of VAT on imported books (Norwegian).