Lubricating oil tax
Tax is payable on lubricating oils that are either imported into Norway or produced in Norway.
About this excise duty
The tax covers
- engine and gearbox lubricating oils
- industrial lubricating oils
- hydraulic oils
The obligation to pay the tax is linked to specific item numbers in the Customs Tariff. The tax is not payable on process oil, transformer oil and electrical oil.
You do not need to pay the tax if you sell lubricating oils in consumer packaging containing less than 0.15 litres.
If you intend to destroy or annihilate goods, you must submit a request to do so to the Norwegian Tax Administration.
Waste oil must be delivered to an authorised reception facility, which will forward it to an authorised collection facility.
The collection facility will be refunded the lubricating oil tax in the form of a grant per litre of lubricating oil. The scheme is administered by the Norwegian Environment Agency.
Report and pay
Enterprises that are registered as liable for excise duties must report their excise duties online. You do this in the excise tax return.
When you’ve submitted an excise tax return, you’ll receive a response containing payment information.
Registration
If you have an enterprise that imports lubricating oil, you can opt to register as liable to pay excise duties.
If you’re registered, you’ll pay the duty when you withdraw the goods from the enterprise's premises. The premises must be approved. If the goods are not placed on approved premises, you’ll have to pay the tax upon import.
If you import lubricating oil and you’re not registered as liable to pay excise duties, you’ll have to pay the excise duties upon import.
Register the enterprise as liable for excise duties
Legal sources
The Tax Administration issues annual circulars about this excise duty. These circulars and other legal sources are meant for professional parties that need more comprehensive legal information.