Customs duties and taxes
Such rules often apply regardless of the shipment's size or value, the recipient, or the method of purchase and sale.
As an export business selling to customers abroad, you need to understand the trade regulations that apply to exports from Norway, as well as the import regulations in the recipient country. This will also give you a clear picture of the total costs, ensuring that both you and your customer understand the scope of the process and agree on the price.
Selling to international customers – customs duties, VAT and other charges
When you sell goods abroad, you can invoice your international customer without Norwegian VAT and, where applicable, other Norwegian duties. By contrast, when you sell to customers in Norway, you must invoice and collect Norwegian VAT.
However, you must properly document tax-exempt export sales in accordance with the VAT regulations. Your business must have sufficient documentation to show that the goods or services were not sold in Norway, but exported outside the VAT area. Many goods sold to customers abroad will probably be exempt from the customs declaration requirement (values below NOK 5,000; see Section 5-9-5 (1)(g) of the Regulations relating to the Movement of Goods). However, the sender must still obtain proof of export from the carrier in accordance with Section 5-9-2 of the Regulations relating to the Movement of Goods.
Tax-exempt sales
Under sections 6-21 and 6-22 of the Value Added Tax Act, the sale of goods outside the VAT area and services intended for use outside the VAT area are exempt from VAT. As mentioned, the sender must obtain proof of export from the carrier. The following applies to the export of goods:
Under the VAT Regulations, you must document the exemption for exported goods with sales documents, a customs declaration and a certificate. For goods exempt from the export declaration requirement, you must document the exemption with a sales document and a certificate of export.
You can read more about registration and documentation requirements for the export of goods in Section 6-21-1 of the Regulations pursuant to the Value Added Tax Act (the VAT Regulations). You can also read about registration and documentation requirements for the export of services in Section 6-22-1 of the VAT Regulations.
Questions and answers about customs duties and VAT
You must document the exemption from value added tax with a sales document, declaration and export certificate in accordance with Section 5-9-2, third and fourth paragraphs, of the Regulations relating to the Movement of Goods, cf. Section 6-21-1 (1) of the VAT Regulations.
For goods exempt from the declaration requirement upon export under Section 5-9-5, first paragraph, of the Regulations relating to the Movement of Goods, the exemption must be documented by a sales document and a certificate of export as referred to in Section 5-9-2, third and fourth paragraphs, of the Regulations relating to the Movement of Goods, cf. Section 6-21-1 (2) of the VAT Regulations.
The Norwegian Customs Tariff is used to find customs duty rates, taxes and any restrictions associated with each individual commodity code. For more information about the Customs Tariff, visit the Norwegian Customs website About the Customs Tariff – Norwegian Customs.
You can use the commodity code you find for your product in the customs tariff to look it up in Mendel. This will show you which taxes and duties apply, as well as any general and specific documentation requirements for exporting to a particular country.
You must claim preferential customs duty yourself, even if you meet all the conditions for preferential treatment on import. To claim preferential treatment, you must therefore provide valid proof of origin from the exporter. You can also claim preferential customs duty retrospectively.
If you have satisfactory proof of origin, enter one of the following codes in box 36 of the customs declaration:
- A: the EEA Agreement
- B: EC–Norway Free Trade Agreement
- C: The EFTA Convention
- P: Other free trade agreements or other preferential systems
If no valid proof of origin is available at the time of customs clearance, but you believe that the goods have originating status under one of the free trade agreements, enter J (YES) in box 36 of the export declaration.
Log in to see which tariffs and requirements apply to your product in different markets. The database is free for Norwegian companies to use. Read more about Mendel here.