You may have VAT reimbursed when you buy goods in Norway and bring them with you when leaving the country. This only applies to individuals who are resident abroad.
Laws and regulations
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Movement of Goods Act section 5-4
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VAT Act section 6-25
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VAT regulation section 6-25-1
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VAT regulation 6-25-2
It is not Norwegian Customs who reimburses VAT. You must inquire with the store in which you bought the goods on how you may have Norwegian VAT reimbursed. How VAT is reimbursed is dependent on where you are resident.
Resident in Sweden, Denmark or Finland?
The individual item's sale price must be at least NOK 1,000 excluding VAT. You must first pay VAT for the item to the seller in Norway. Thereafter you must declare the item and pay VAT upon arrival in your home country. You then send the declaration receipt to the seller in Norway, who will then reimburse VAT to you.
Resident in another country than Sweden, Denmark and Finland, or living on Svalbard or Jan Mayen?
The individual invoice amount must be at least NOK 250 excluding VAT. For those living on Svalbard or Jan Mayen the individual item's sale price must be at least NOK 1,000 excluding VAT. You must pay VAT to the seller.
Two options for reimbursement
1. Norwegian Customs certificate upon export of the item
This arrangement requires that a form is used when buying the item. The form is completed by the seller.
When leaving Norway, you must present the item to Norwegian Customs who will attest the export on the completed form when travelling from Norway. You must yourself present the item and completed form when leaving.
No more than one month must have passed from the time you got the item delivered until you leave the country with it. Norwegian Customs cannot attest the export once you have left the country with the item. You must yourself send the form to the shop in order for the seller to reimburse VAT to you.
If you require attestation from Norwegian Customs, you must leave the country via a manned border crossing. If you leave at a location that is not manned by Norwegian Customs, the form will not be certified.
You must check the opening hours at the customs office you pass. Oslo Airport Gardermoen and the Svinesund, Eda and Helligskogen border crossings are always manned.
For residents on Svalbard, the attestation of the export on the completed form (RD 0032) can be done either by the Norwegian Customs, when travelling from Norway, or by the Governor of Svalbard, when you arrive to Svalbard from Norway.
2. "Tax-Free Shopping"
There are also private undertakings that have agreements with several stores in Norway on VAT exempt sales to tourists. If you are resident abroad, you may have VAT reimbursed when you buy goods in Norway and bring them with you when you leave the country.
The VAT is reimbursed by the representative of the private undertaking when you leave the country. The private undertaking uses their own sales documents that prove that the sale has been done in Norway. The sales documents shall not be stamped or attested by the Norwegian Customs.