Customs declaration into Norway
Once Digitoll is fully in place, the customs declaration into Norway must be lodged at the latest on crossing the border. If you send from Sweden, that means your part of the paperwork has to be finished earlier than before.
What changes, and when
Norway is digitalising the border crossing in stages. The first step is taken, the second comes in spring 2027, and together they remove the option of sorting things out at the border.
- 15 September 2026
- The digital notification and information duty became compulsory. Clearance at the border was phased out. That date has passed.
- 1 March 2027
- The declaration must be lodged at the latest on crossing the border. Direct haulage arrangements end entirely.
- The channel is the same
- The existing declaration system has not been replaced. Digitoll is the duty, the system is the channel.
- Five days ahead
- A consignment may be declared up to five days before the border crossing. The declaration date is the expected date of crossing.
Digitoll by date
A common misconception is that the declaration system has been replaced. It has not. Digitoll is the duty to supply the information in time, the existing system is the channel it goes through. Digitoll declarations also go to a dedicated expedition unit whatever border crossing the consignment takes, and that requires specifically granted access.
Before, a missing document could be fixed while the lorry stood still. Now the lorry stands still because the document was missing.
Who does what on the Norwegian side
Norway split customs and tax between two authorities in 2017, and that is the commonest confusion in Swedish texts on the subject.
- Norwegian Customs
- Responsible for the movement of goods, the declaration and the customs duty. Not Swedish Customs, as many texts wrongly state.
- The Norwegian Tax Administration
- Has held responsibility for import VAT since 2017.
- VAT registered importer
- Calculates and reports the import VAT themselves in their VAT return. No VAT is paid at the border.
- Not registered, and private individuals
- VAT is declared on the customs declaration and paid on import. Customs collect it on the tax administration’s behalf.
The authorities and the VAT
The difference is practical, not merely formal. A VAT registered Norwegian importer pays no VAT at the border but reports it in their own VAT return. That affects both cash flow and who your customer should turn to when something goes wrong.
What falls on you as the sender
The Norwegian declaration is your customer's responsibility, but it cannot be lodged without your paperwork. This is the part you own.
- Export declaration in Sweden
- Lodged with Swedish Customs before the goods leave the union. That is the Swedish half and we handle it.
- Proof of origin up to 64 000 kronor
- An origin declaration on the invoice is enough. The limit is 6 000 euro expressed in the currency of the invoice, and the amount is not converted.
- Above the limit
- Movement certificate EUR.1, or authorisation as an approved exporter. That authorisation has no value limit at all.
- The paperwork for your customer
- Invoice, proof of origin, commodity codes and weights must be with the Norwegian declarant before the border crossing, not at it.
Your part of the chain
The value limit deserves a second look. It is expressed in the currency of the invoice and the amount is not converted, so an invoice in kronor is tested against 64 000 kronor as it stands. If you sit just above the limit regularly, authorisation as an approved exporter is usually the right answer, because it removes the limit altogether.
Duty and VAT in brief
The EEA agreement makes industrial goods duty free with a valid proof of origin. Agricultural and food products sit outside the main rule and have only selective relief. VAT in Norway is twenty-five per cent, with fifteen on food.
That is deliberately short here. Rates, the taxable amount, restrictions, quotas and costs are set out at length in the guide to customs clearance of goods into Norway.
The Swedish half
Before any of this applies, the goods have to leave the union, and that needs an export declaration. How it is lodged and which certificate proves the exit is on the export declaration page, and the whole export chain is on the export page. If you are bringing goods the other way, see importing from Norway.
Read on
We cover the Swedish side of the sale on our page about exporting to Norway.
Common questions
What is Digitoll, briefly?
A digital duty to notify, provide information about and declare the goods before or at the latest on crossing the border. The point is that the goods can roll across without stopping, because everything is already lodged.
So it is not a new portal or a new system to learn. The declaration still goes through the existing channel. What changes is when it has to be in, and that whoever misses the deadline can no longer sort it out at the border.
What does it mean for me, sending from Sweden?
That your part of the paperwork has to be finished earlier than before. Previously an incomplete invoice or a missing proof of origin could be fixed while the lorry stood at the border. That option is going away.
Concretely it means invoice, commodity codes, weights and proof of origin must reach the Norwegian declarant before the lorry rolls, not while it queues.
How far in advance can the declaration be sent?
Up to five days before the border crossing. The declaration date must be the expected date of crossing, and it is that day's duty rates, exchange rates and excise rates that apply. A declaration sent early cannot be recalculated before the declaration date, which is worth knowing if something changes in the meantime.
Which proof of origin is needed?
Up to 6 000 euro an origin declaration on the invoice is enough. The limit is expressed in the currency of the invoice and the amount is not converted, which in practice means 64 000 kronor for an invoice in Swedish kronor.
Above the limit a movement certificate EUR.1 is required, unless you hold authorisation as an approved exporter. That authorisation has no value limit and is worth applying for if you ship regularly.
Will there be duty on the goods?
It depends on the chapter of the tariff. The EEA agreement mainly covers chapters 25 to 97, that is industrial goods, which therefore move duty free with a valid proof of origin. Chapters 1 to 24, agricultural and food products, sit outside the main rule of the agreement and have only selective relief through separate protocols. The preference must also be claimed in the Norwegian declaration; it does not arrive on its own.
My customer has no Norwegian company number. Does it still work?
Yes, but some registered identifier is needed. Companies without a Norwegian organisation number and people without a Norwegian personal or D number apply for a customs registration number with Norwegian Customs. The application is now made online only, the paper form is gone. Often the forwarder applies on the customer's behalf.
Are there consignments that cannot go through Digitoll?
Yes. Goods requiring veterinary or plant health border control follow their own procedure with their own expedition units and cannot be declared in Digitoll. Certain consignments with a particular reference code may use Digitoll but must be declared on the day of import. Exactly this kind of exception is why the setup should be checked before the first delivery, not after.
What about small parcels and e-commerce?
Then the simplified scheme for low value goods is what matters, with a limit counted per item. That and the Norwegian charges in general are described in the guide to customs clearance into Norway. This page is about business flows across the border.
