Reporting and paying VAT
Once your business has been registered in the VAT Register, you must submit tax returns for VAT (Tax return for VAT) six times a year. The tax return for VAT is a report of vatable sales and purchases made during the period.
How to report
Reporting can be done directly through most accounting systems or through the Tax Administration's manual systems.
VAT return: View, change and submit
Deadlines:
The return must be submitted and outstanding VAT must be paid within one month and ten days after the end of each period. The periods are as follows:
- 1st period January/February - 10 April
- 2nd period March/April- 10 June
- 3rd period May/June- 31 August
- 4th period July/August - 10 October
- 5th period September/October - 10 December
- 6th period November/December - 10 February
The tax return for VAT must be submitted even if there were no sales during the period concerned.
Annual tax return for VAT
When you have been registered for VAT for at least a year, you can apply to submit tax returns for VAT annually (annual tax return for VAT) if your turnover is less than NOK 1 million.
The Norwegian Tax Administration – Small enterprises can apply to report VAT once a year
The submission and payment deadline for the annual tax return for VAT is the 10th March in the year after the income year. If you apply to submit annual tax returns for VAT, the deadline is 1 February in the income year. If you submit annual VAT returns, but would prefer to submit one return per period, you must submit an application to do so to the tax office by 1 December in order for the new arrangement to take effect in the following year.
The Norwegian Tax Administration - Report VAT
Businesses within agriculture, forestry and fishing (the primary industries)
If you are involved in agriculture, Animal husbandry, horticulture, market gardening, forestry, or fisheries the VAT return is submitted once a year. 10 April is the deadline for submission and payment. You can also include sales from another sector in this tax return for VAT if the sales in that sector do not exceed NOK 30,000 during the year. If you exceed this limit, you must register the other activity for VAT separately. You can do this even if the sales in other industry do not exceed NOK 50,000.
Late payment interest and enforcement fine
Interest will be calculated on overdue VAT payments.
In addition, you may incur a coercive fine for late or non-submission of mandatory information to the Tax Administration, or if there are obvious errors in the information provided. Pay attention to the deadlines and submit on time.
The Norwegian Tax Administration on Enforcement fine
Imports and VAT
The basis for calculating VAT in connection with imports is determined using the customs value. In other words, what you either have paid or will pay for the goods abroad, including the cost of transportation to Norway, insurance, packaging, etc. plus any customs and excise duties.
The basis for VAT is stated in the tax return for VAT. If your enterprise is not registered for VAT, VAT must be paid at the customs office or via the shipping agent/carrier.
More information on this can be found in the article on imports.
Remote delivered services
When you purchase remotely deliverable services from abroad (e.g. software and consultancy services provided via the internet), the purchase must be included in the tax return for VAT when the purchase concerns a service which would have been subject to VAT in the case of a sale from a Norwegian enterprise.
If you are not registered in the VAT Register, such purchases must be reported via a separate tax return for VAT. This return must be submitted every three months, but you do not calculate and pay VAT until the combined value of remote delivered services in a quarter exceeds NOK 2,000, excluding VAT.
Sale of goods and remote delivered services to Norwegian consumers (VOEC)
Foreign businesses selling goods worth up to NOK 3,000 or selling remote delivered services (for example software or consultancy services supplied online) regardless of the value to Norwegian consumers, can do a simplified VAT registration with the Norwegian Tax Administration through the VOEC scheme (Value added tax on e-commerce).
When registering through the VOEC scheme, the foreign company should calculate and add VAT to the customer and pay this to the Tax Administration. Since VAT is already paid on the purchase, no VAT will be added when the VOEC goods are cleared through customs in Norway.
By doing the simplified VOEC registration, the enterprise will receive a VOEC id-number used to label the consignments of goods, and in connection with reporting and paying Norwegian VAT.
The enterprise should not register in the Register of Legal Entities in Norway, nor in the VAT register. The enterprise can register from the first sale, as opposed to the normal VAT registration which requires a turnover of NOK 50,000 before you can register.
The VOEC scheme does not apply for the sale of food products, tobacco and alcohol as well as other goods that are restricted or prohibited according to Norwegian law.
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