OSLO: The European Commission has announced the initialling of an agreement with Norway on value-added tax (VAT), covering administrative cooperation, recovery assistance, and anti-fraud activity.
Negotiations on the agreement were launched in June 2015. The Commission said that once the agreement is signed and adopted, it will provide EU member states and Norway with a solid legal framework to combat VAT fraud and assist each other in the recovery of VAT claims.
Norway is not part of the EU. Any sale from a Norwegian business to a customer in the EU is considered an export from Norway. Norwegian exports are exempt from VAT, but local VAT is added when goods are cleared through customs in the EU state of destination.
Similarly, a seller in an EU member state should not charge local VAT on goods exported to a Norwegian customer, as Norwegian VAT is added when the goods are cleared through customs in Norway.
