Non-compliance penalties
You may be required to pay a non-compliance penalty if you fail to fulfil an obligation to provide information as a third party. In other words, if you fail to submit information concerning other parties to the Norwegian Tax Administration.
Examples of this are employers and banks which provide information concerning income and wealth.
If you do not cooperate in connection with audits or prepare and retain staff lists, you may also be required to pay a non-compliance penalty.
Who can be covered by a non-compliance penalty?
The main penalty imposed on third parties which fail to fulfil the obligation to provide information is the imposition of an enforcement fine. If a third party still does not submit the information, the Norwegian Tax Administration may consider imposing a non-compliance penalty.
Why are non-compliance penalties imposed?
We can impose non-compliance penalties when:
- Taxpayers and third parties fail to cooperate in connection with audits
- Enterprises in certain defined sectors unable to present accurate staff lists during an audit
- Third parties fail to meet the deadlines for reporting and no enforcement fine is imposed in order to encourage the third party to submit the necessary information.
Non-compliance penalty rates
- Failure to provide third party information: 10 court fees (NOK 12,770)
- Failure to prepare staff lists: 10 court fees (NOK 12,770)
In the event of repeated breaches within a period of 12 months, the penalty will be doubled.
The rates are based on the court fee for 2024.
If you fail to cooperate in connection with an audit, the non-compliance penalty may be set to up to NOK 63,850.
When will a non-compliance penalty not be imposed?
No non-compliance penalty will be imposed on you if it is impossible to fulfil the submission obligation due to circumstances beyond your control.
No non-compliance penalty will be imposed if an enforcement fine has been imposed on you for the same circumstances.
Protection against self-incrimination - the right to remain silent
Non-compliance penalties are considered to be a punishment. The tax authorities must provide information on the right of parties in a case to remain silent. A party is entitled not to respond to questions or provide documents or objects when doing so might expose the party concerned to a non-compliance penalty. This is often called the provision of guidance concerning protection against self-incrimination.