Here you will find information about the obigation to register with the Norwegian Seafood Council as well as on the marketing and research fees connected to the export of fish.
Requirements for registration as an exporter
In order to export fish from Norway, you must be registered with the Norwegian Seafood Council. Once you are registered as an exporter of fish, you will receive a registration number to use when you declare fish to the Norwegian Customs Service. As a registered exporter of fish, you must pay an annual fee of NOK 15,000 to the Norwegian Seafood Council. Unregistered exporters wishing to export fish and fish products must consult with the Norwegian Seafood Council.
- Read more about what you have to pay and how to register on the Norwegian Seafood Concil's website
- See the regulations on the regulation of exports of fish and fish products
Export tax – Scope of goods and tax rates from 1 January 2020
The Export duty for fish and fish products consists of a marketing fee with variable rates and a research fee making out 0,3 % of the fob-value. From 1 Janaury 2020, the marketing fee-rate for pelagic fish will be changed. Meal and pellets from fish are exempted from the marketing fee, but not from the research fee.
For the export of fish and fish products etc. tax shall be paid pursuant to the following rates:
| Type tax | Tax group | Type of goods | Rate as a % of fob value |
| FF | 100 | Fish, crustaceans and molluscs in Customs Tariff positions 03.01 to 03.08 and position 16.05, excluding products covered by FF 101, 102, 104 and 105 | 1.05% |
| FF | 101 | Herring, mackerel, caplin, hake, argentine, horse mackerel, Norway pout and sprat falling under Customs Tariff positions 03.01 to 03.05 | 0.80% |
| FF | 102 |
Cooked or preserved fish etc. under Customs Tariff position 16.04 |
0.30% |
| FF | 104 | Industrial fish and by-products of fish, fish oil, fish extracts and juices etc. and fishmeal; cf. Customs Tariff subheading 0511.91, position 15.04, commodity codes 15.16.1012, 15.16.1020, 16.03.0020, 23.01.2010 and 23.01.2090, as well as meal and pellets from fish, crustaceans and molluscs under Customs Tariff positions 03.05 to 03.08. | 0.30% |
| FF | 105 | Salmon and trout falling under Customs Tariff positions 03.01 to 03.05 | 0.60 % |
Export tax for regular exportation
When exporting fish and fish products from the customs territory, the exporter must state the export tax on the export declaration using code FF, the tax base, rate and amount. The boundaries of the customs territory are the same as the boundaries of Norway's territorial waters; i.e. 12 nautical miles from the sea boundary.
You can use a customs credit to pay for the export tax.
Export tax on direct delivery from fishing grounds outside the customs territory
For direct deliveries abroad or to foreign vessels from Norwegian fishing vessels in fishing grounds outside the customs territory, exporters under the Norwegian Act on Fish Exports must declare direct deliveries through the Norwegian Customs Service's forwarding system, TVINN. In practice, a co-operative will often be the exporter of this type of export and thus be responsible for the declaration.
The declaration and payment of FF tax for direct deliveries will thus take place in the same way as for the regular export of goods from the customs territory. As these direct deliveries are not considered as regular export under the Norwegian Customs Act, you must state procedure code 85 in box 37 of the declaration for these deliveries.
It is the time of delivery of the goods that determines when you are required to declare the tax. You can nevertheless apply to the Movement of Goods Division to submit declarations on a monthly basis. Exporters who have been granted monthly declarations must submit their declarations no later than the 5th of the month following delivery. If the 5th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the reporting deadline will be the first working day thereafter.
The tax office processes customs credit cases.
Please contact your local customs office if you have any questions.
Exemptions from tax obligations
These goods are exempt from FF tax
- goods where the export tax for a consignment is less than NOK 100;
- fish and fish products for the World Food Programme;
- fish and fish products channelled via aid organisations;
- goods that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority does not approve for import and which are therefore sent out of Norway;
- foreign-caught fish and foreign fish products which, under the applicable legislation, have not been cleared through customs in Norway nor transported abroad directly or from customs warehouses;
- foreign-caught fish and foreign fish products returned as a result of a complaint.
If you request an exemption from a tax obligation, you must state "GEN" in box 44 of the export declaration. You also need to enter the exemption code for the tax group applicable to the export.
The exemption codes are
- S10/6761A – for all exemptions where the goods belong to tax group FF 100;
- S10/6761D – for all exemptions where the goods belong to tax group FF 101;
- S10/6761B – for all exemptions where the goods belong to tax group FF 102;
- S10/6761C – for all exemptions where the goods belong to tax group FF 104.
Refund of export tax
The customs region where the export tax was determined may, upon application, refund the incorrectly determined tax.
Statistics on foreign trade
The information declared is used for producing statistics on foreign trade. The export of fish etc. caught within the customs territory as well as by Norwegian vessels outside the customs territory shall be included in the statistics.
Export quota of fish and fish products from fishing tourism
Up to 10 or 20 kilos of fish or fish products, including processed products such as fish fillets, may be exported from the country within a period of 7 days, per person.