Items that cost under 350 kroner have typically been exempt from paying import duties. This is because of an exception, which means such goods don’t need to be cleared through customs upon entering Norway. 

However, this will change from the New Year, and now all items will be stopped and required to pay VAT and duty upon entering Norway if they don’t come from retailers part of the VOEC (VAT on E-commerce) scheme. 

VAT and customs duties will need to be paid from the first kroner from January 1st. Norway’s parliament removed the exception to create better competition between Norwegian shops and online stores abroad. 

The new rules will primarily affect foreign stores that are not part of the VOEC scheme. Foreign stores can sign up for the VOEC scheme to collect and report VAT to Norway. This means that items go through a simplified customs process. 

The simplified customs process means that you don’t have to pay any additional duty and that you don’t have to wait longer for your item to clear customs. 

To avoid the new charges, the Norwegian Tax Administration has a registry of the online stores signed up to its VOEC scheme. 

When shopping from foreign stores that are not included in the VOEC scheme, you can use the Norwegian Customs Authority’s import calculator. 

The calculator doesn’t account for any additional fees that the carrier may charge for customs clearance. 

Using the calculator gives shoppers a better overall idea of what the total price for the product will be, as customs and VAT can significantly add to the cost of goods. 

 READ MORE: The rules for sending and receiving items in Norway