Credit for the one-off registration tax
The Tax Administration may grant credit for the one-off registration tax to car dealers who register vehicles for the first time on behalf of their customers. The arrangement also covers the vehicle scrap deposit.
Credit for the one-off registration tax allows you to defer payment of the taxes. Charges incurred in one calendar month are due for payment on the 18th of the following month.
Without credit, you business must pay the taxes at the time of registration.
If your application is approved, your business can register vehicles continously in the Autosys service for dealers. In this case, you business is considered the declarant and is responsible for the tax.
Who can apply?
We only grant credit for the one-off registration tax to car dealers who register vehicles for the first time on behalf of their customers.
To be eligible, your business must also:
- be registered in the Register of Business Enterprises
- provide a security (bank guarantee) equal to at least one month's expected tax charges
Please note that a subdivision cannot register vehicles even if the main entity has been granted credit. If a subdivision is to register vehicles using credit, the main entity must apply for a separate credit arrangement for that subdivision. This is due to technical limitations in the Autosys service for dealers. The main entity remains responsible for the tax on behalf of its subdivisions.
Foreign businesses can also apply for credit for the one-off registration tax.
To be eligible, the business must be registered in a business register or equivalent in the country where it’s established. If the enterprise is registered in the Value Added Tax Register with a representative, you can apply for a dispensation from the requirement to be registered in the Register of Business Enterprises. The same applies to enterprises established in the EU/EEA that are registered directly in the Value Added Tax Register and that do not have a connection to Norway as follows from the term business activity under the Norwegian Business Enterprise Registration Act.
If you have a foreign business and a Norwegian branch (NUF), the application must be submitted by the foreign parent company. The enterprise may be asked to submit various types of supporting documents, such as accounts, tax certificates, or the like. This applies both during the application process and throughout the customer relationship.
If your business is established in an EU/EEA country that Norway does not have a collection assistance agreement with, an extended security requirement may be imposed as a condition for credit. The same applies to businesses established outside the EU/EEA, even if Norway has a collection assistance agreement with the country.
Foreign businesses cannot submit applications via skatteetaten.no. Please contact us to request the application form for foreign businesses.
How to apply
Businesses that do not currently have credit for the one-off registration tax can apply for it.
If your business already has credit for the one-off registration tax, you can change, reopen, or terminate the arrangement
How we process your application
Your business will be granted credit for a limited amount, based on the credit need stated in your application. This should reflect the taxes you expect to charge to the credit account over one calendar month. We recommend using the highest monthly amount from the past six months as a starting point, but make sure the credit limit also covers any expected future increases.
When reviewing your application, we consider the Tax Administration's gemeral level of trust in your business. This includes willingness and ability to pay, compliance with relevant regulations, and the possibility of recovering unpaid amounts.
We'll require a security (bank guarantee) as a condition for granting credit for the one-off registration tax.
Due dates and payment
Amounts charged to the credot account in one calendar month are due for payment on the 18th of the following month.
Example:
Let's say your business registers vehicles to the credit on 4, 10 and 20 March. The taxes for all the vehicles will be cue for payment on 18 April.
We do not send invoices, but you'll receive a tax specification with payment details.
Payments must be made to the Tax Administration's account using the correct KID number.
Retrieving information from Altinn – tax specification
We do not send invoices, but you’ll receive a tax specification with payment details.
Information about vehicles charged to the credit account and payment deadlines is available in Altinn.
Your business is responsible for keeping track of charges and paying the correct amount by the deadline. The tax specification is usually available in Altinn from the 3rd of the following month.
You’ll need to choose how you want to retrieve messages.
The tax specification is sent as a message in Altinn in both PDF and e2b format.
You’ll find a description of the e2b invoice format in the message handbook. This handbook is only available in Norwegian.
Altinn offers several ways to retrieve this information, including machine-to-machine communication and a portal where you can download it manually.
If you discover errors in the tax specification, you must report them to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) if they relate to technical data. Other issues should be reported to the Tax Administration.
Even if an error is found, your business is still required to pay the full amount stated in the tax specification.
Failure to follow up on the tax specification may be considered a failure to provide information under section 14-3 of the Tax Administration Act, and may result in additional tax.
If you pay too late or do not meet other conditions
If your business exceeds the credit limit set in your application, this is a breach of the terms and the credit may be terminated. You’re responsible for keeping track of the amounts charged to the credit. If the credit limit is too low, you can apply to change it.
If your business pays late, the credit will be terminated. If you pay late, you must pay interest.
The credit may also be terminated if other claims from the Tax Administration are not paid or other obligations are not met. If your creditworthiness is reduced, we may require increased security or terminate the credit arrangement.
Monitoring creditworthiness
The Tax Administration will monitor your business’s creditworthiness for as long as the customer relationship exists. If your business is no longer creditworthy or other conditions are no longer met, the credit may be revoked.
If your creditworthiness is reduced, we may require additional security beyond the standard requirement.
Security requirements
If your creditworthiness is reduced or your business needs to increase its credit limit, the Tax Administration may require a higher level of security. Security must be provided as a guarantee from a bank or insurance company.
The bank must prepare the guarantee text in line with the Tax Administration’s standard.
General importers and their dealer networks may apply to use a group guarantee as security. A group guarantee means that the general importer provides a bank guarantee that covers multiple dealers. Each dealer must apply for credit individually and will be registered with their own credit arrangement.
The guarantee amount is based on the credit limits of the dealers covered by the group guarantee.
The guarantee amount may be set slightly lower than the total of all dealers’ credit limits. This is because the credit risk is generally lower when a group guarantee is used. As a rule, a reduction of up to 30 percent of the dealers’ total taxable turnover may be granted. The reduction is assessed based on the number of dealers included in the group guarantee, their total taxable turnover, and that the Tax Administration finds reason to believe it can recover unpaid amounts.se merknad
Guarantee document and dealer list
A standard format has been developed for the group guarantee and the accompanying dealer list.
A guarantee document covering a specific number of dealers is linked to a dealer list associated with the dealer network. The dealer list must include the name, address, and organisation number of each dealer (main entity and any subdivisions) covered by the group guarantee.
Any additions to the dealer list must be reported to the Tax Administration in writing. The declaration must confirm that the guarantor has agreed to include the specified dealer in the group guarantee.
Removal from the dealer list is considered a termination. This means that the guarantee obligation can only be ended by sending written notice by registered mail to the Tax Administration. The guarantee ends two months after the Tax Administration has received notice that the dealer is to be removed from the list. Please note that the guarantee also applies after the guarantee period ends, for claims that originated during the guarantee period.
Special rules for groups
As a general rule, no reduction in the guarantee amount will be granted for group guarantees covering companies within the same corporate group. No discount will ever be granted for a main entity and its subdivisions, as these are considered a single company.
Even though a reduced guarantee amount will not be granted, it’s still possible to accept a group guarantee covering several businesses that form a single unit. The unit as a whole will benefit financially from having just one guarantee document.
Change, reopen or terminate an existing credit agreement
If the credit limit is too low or too high, your business can apply to change it.
If you’ve provided a higher level of security than the standard requirement and want this reassessed, you can apply to reduce the guarantee. The Tax Administration will then carry out a new credit assessment.
If your credit arrangement has been terminated, you can apply to reopen it.
If you have not used the credit for a long time, it may be terminated automatically. You can then apply to reopen it.
If you no longer need credit, you can request to terminate the arrangement.
Vehicle registration responsibilities
Your business must always comply with the regulations and provisions on taxes issued or to be issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate of Taxes. The annual circular on the one-off registration tax is available on skatteetaten.no under Rettskilder (legal sources, in Norwegian only).
Below, you’ll find more information about the responsibilities of the party registering a vehicle, errors in vehicle data, tax exemptions, alternative depreciation calculations for used vehicle imports, documentation retention requirements, and the Tax Administration’s right to carry out audits.
Businesses that register vehicles via the Autosys service for dealers or in person at a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office are referred to as the declarant. The declarant is considered the taxable party and is responsible for the one-off registration tax.
The tax is calculated based on the technical vehicle data recorded at the time of registration.
Your business is required to independently review the tax specification received, in accordance with section 8-4 of the Regulations relating to the one-off registration tax. The specification must be reviewed before the monthly payment deadline. Even if an error is found, your business is still required to pay the full amount stated in the tax specification.
If the specification differs from your own records, you must investigate the cause. If the discrepancy is due to incorrect technical vehicle data, you must contact the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to correct the tax basis. If the discrepancy is due to other reasons, you must notify the Tax Administration as soon as possible.
Failure to follow up on the tax specification may be considered a failure to provide information under section 14-3 of the Tax Administration Act, and may result in additional tax.
If your review of the tax specification reveals errors in the technical data from the vehicle register, you must report the issue to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration immediately so the data can be corrected and a new vehicle registration certificate issued if necessary. Only the Norwegian Public Roads Administration can change technical data, vehicle categories, or add notes to the vehicle register.
The Tax Administration cannot adjust the one-off registration tax until the corrections have been registered in the vehicle register. We receive this information directly from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
If the declarant needs to contact the Tax Administration regarding the tax amount, it’s important to include the following:
- the reason for contacting us (what’s incorrect, what’s correct, and why)
- declarant’s name, organisation number, address, and phone number
- bank account number (for refunds)
- contact person’s name, phone number, and email address
- supporting documents showing the correct vehicle information and confirmation that changes have been made by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (for example, form NA-0221, COC, new and old vehicle registration certificates)
Vehicles that are exempt under section 7 of the Storting’s tax resolution, with further provisions in chapter IV of the Regulations relating to the one-off registration tax, fall into three categories:
- Exemptions granted automatically based on characteristics classified by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
- Exemptions that can be self-declared in the Tax Administration’s payment solution via the Autosys Vehicle Industry Solution.
- Exemptions that require prior approval from the Tax Administration.
If an exemption is granted following an application, the decision will include payment information, but you can also use the Tax Administration’s payment solution. It’s important to note that such exemptions are granted to a specific declarant. If the declarant at the time of registration differs from the one named in the decision, the vehicle will be registered with the standard tax rate. Some exemptions are also tied to a specific owner. If the owner differs at the time of registration, the vehicle will be registered with the standard tax rate.
You can find updated information about exemptions and reductions on the Tax Administration’s one-off registration tax exemption pages (opens in new tab).
When registering a used imported motor vehicle for the first time, a deduction is applied to the calculated one-off registration tax. As a general rule, this deduction is calculated as a percentage based on the table in section 3-3 of the Regulations relating to the one-off registration tax.
If you wish to use an alternative method to calculate the depreciation deduction, and your business has been granted credit, you must indicate this before registering the vehicle, in accordance with section 3-4 of the Regulations relating to the one-off registration tax.
This is done by clicking the link to go to the Tax Administration in the Autosys service for dealers after starting the registration process and before completing it. The option for alternative calculation will then be available in the Tax Administration’s payment solution.
Please note that once the vehicle has been registered, the choice of alternative calculation is binding. However, you can change your selection by clicking the link to go to the Tax Administration again, as long as this is done before the registration process is completed in the Autosys service for dealers.
Important: Businesses with credit should be aware that the 15-day deadline for applying for alternative calculation does not apply to credit customers.
You can find more information about deduction for use on the Tax Administration's pages about deduction for use (opens in new tab).
Businesses with credit are required, under section 8-7 of the Regulations relating to the one-off registration tax, to retain documents relevant to their tax liability, including its scope. This obligation applies even to businesses that are not subject to accounting requirements under the Accounting Act. The retention period is ten years.
Examples of documents that must be retained include sales invoices, contracts, payment record, and supporting documents for any self-declared tax exemptions.
For used vehicles, the retention obligation also includes original registration documents and other records showing the vehicle’s technical data and age – documents necessary to calculate the correct tax. The following documents are also relevant to the tax liability:
- COC – Certificate of Conformity
- Registration certificate – form NA-0221
- Norwegian type approval (issued by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration)
See the accounting legislation and section 8-7 of the Regulations relating to the one-off registration tax.
Under section 10-1 of the Tax Administration Act, the taxable party (the declarant) and others must provide information requested by the tax authorities that may be relevant to their bookkeeping, tax liability, or related audits.
The party required to provide information must also grant the tax authorities access for inspections, examinations of archives, inventory counts, valuations, and similar activities involving real property, facilities, equipment, vehicles, and similar assets. This is stated in section 10-4 of the Tax Administration Act.
When reviewing a business’s archives, the tax authorities may copy documents to a data storage medium for later review either at the business premises or at the Tax Administration.
The taxable party, including the business owner or employees, is required to provide the Tax Administration with any necessary assistance and guidance.
In accordance with section 10-8, subsection 3, of the Tax Administration Act, the Tax Administration may require the taxable party to present the vehicle at a regional road office for inspection of its registration details to ensure the correct tax has been applied.
Legal sources
The provisions regarding credit can be found in: