Purchases from abroad

Examples of foodstuffs are food, candy, soft drinks, health foods or other food supplements, protein powder, spices or tea.

You must pay VAT and any excise or customs duties if you buy such goods online. The duties will be imposed when the goods arrive at the Norwegian border. 

In practice, the courier may calculate and pay the duties on your behalf. They'll do this based on information regarding the package and the content with which the sender is obliged to mark the shipment. It will probably incur a fee from the courier. It varies when the couriers claim their fees and duties.

Examples of goods that are subject to excise duties are chocolates and sweets, tobacco goods, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, diet soda, lemonade, etc.

You must pay VAT as well as any excise or customs duties if you buy these goods online. Find out more about foodstuffs above and which other goods this applies to.

You must pay VAT on goods you buy online from foreign websites. The online shop is responsible for charging VAT when you pay. In other words, it will be the same as purchasing goods in Norwegian shops.

This does not apply to foodstuffs or goods subject to excise duties that are described above.

International online shops are obliged to register so that they can charge VAT and ship goods to Norway. Consignments that are marked in a way that states that VAT has been paid will not be subject to customs clearance fees at the border, making it cheaper to import the goods to Norway.

It’s not illegal for Norwegian consumers to shop in online shops that are not registered. In such cases, VAT and any customs duties will be calculated and imposed when the goods cross the Norwegian border. In practice, the shipping company will have the ability to calculate and pay the duties on your behalf. They'll do this based on information about the package and its contentwhich the sender is obliged to state on the shipment. Consumerswill probably incur a fee from the shipping company for this. The time at which shipping companies claim their fees and duties varies.

Some goods are illegal to import, or are subject to restrictions. Find out more about which goods this applies to at the Norwegian Customs.

For goods with a value over NOK 3,000, VAT and any excise and customs duties will be calculated and added when the goods cross the Norwegian border. In practice, the courier may calculate and pay the duties on your behalf. They'll do this based on information regarding the package and the content with which the sender is obliged to mark the shipment. It will probably incur a fee from the courier. It varies when the couriers claim their fees and duties.

At the Norwegian customs website you can read more about customs regulations.

When you import and register a vehicle in Norway, you must pay a one-off registration tax and other duties. Read more about importing cars and other vehicles.

If you think a clearance error has caused errors in the customs declaration, please contact Norwegian Customs or the forwarding agent (who transports the goods on your behalf).

Some examples of errors: incorrect value for the goods, incorrect recipient information, or incorrect VAT rate.

If you return goods to the sender abroad because of errors or defects, or you paid VAT twice, you can apply for a refund of customs duty and VAT

If you, as a consumer, have been imposed value added tax (VAT) twice for the same item, for example both upon purchase and import to Norway, you may get a refund of one of the payments.

If you think Norwegian Customs has charged the incorrect amount of tax or duties, you can send an appeal to the Norwegian Tax Administration.