If you intend to import food and drink (foodstuffs) from abroad, you must always pay VAT. Some goods are also subject to customs duty and special taxes. Remember to always register as an importer of foodstuffs with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
You must register as an importer of foodstuffs electronically by way of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s form service.
How much does it cost?
The VAT rate is 15 per cent on food and beverages, except for alcohol which has a VAT rate of 25 per cent.
Some foodstuffs are also subject to customs duty. The customs duty rate depends on what the product contains and the country where it was produced. The customs duty rate may also vary during the year. For example, the customs duty rate on apples is much higher in the autumn than in the spring. This is to protect domestic production.
Some agricultural products are subject to a research levy. This is set at 0.35 per cent. The rate is set at 0.25 per cent for semi-finished and finished goods.
Some foods are also subject to special taxes. This includes alcohol, and non-alcoholic beverages.
Calculation of customs duty and taxes
Import of 10 kilos of caramels from the US: (2021)
| Purchase cost | NOK 1,000.00 | |
| + | Shipping costs | NOK 100.00 |
| + | Customs duty (10 kg x NOK 3.88) | NOK 38.80 |
| = | Total purchase, shipping and duty | NOK 1,138.00 |
| + | VAT (NOK 1,138.80 x 15%) | NOK 170.82 |
| = | Total goods + duty + taxes | NOK 1,309.62 |
Restrictions
Several foods are subject to restrictions. This means that in certain cases special permission is required from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority to import goods. This applies to imports of, for example, foods containing meat, fish, or milk from countries outside the EU/EEA.
Customs Tariff
To find out which customs duty rate, special taxes, and restrictions may apply to the goods you want to import, you must find the correct commodity code in the Customs Tariff.