On 7 October 2026, the Støre government presented its proposed national budget for 2027. Here is an overview of the key proposed changes to VAT, excise duties and customs duties.
The government proposes to further reduce the VAT exemption for sales and leasing of electric passenger vehicles.
Sales and leasing of electric vehicles were exempt from VAT until 2023. A price cap of NOK 500,000 was then introduced, before it was reduced to NOK 300,000 in the 2026 budget.
The government now proposes to reduce the cap further to NOK 150,000, effective from 1 January 2027.
Transport of goods is generally subject to VAT, and this includes letter mail. One exemption applies to transport services going directly to or from places outside the VAT area.
The Ministry proposes to extend the exemption for postal shipments leaving Norway. The exemption would also apply where the purchase documents that the shipment is going to a named recipient outside the VAT area. Stamps and other postage sold without a documented recipient would remain subject to VAT.
The change is proposed to take effect on 1 January 2027.
The Ministry of Finance proposes extending the deadline for claiming VAT compensation to three years. The proposal covers municipalities, county authorities and certain private and non-profit organizations.
Under current rules, the tax return for VAT compensation is due one month and ten days after the end of each tax period. A return filed after the deadline is normally rejected. For municipalities and county authorities, the time-bar follows the deadline for filing the return for the next period. For other eligible claimants, the deadline follows the return for the sixth subsequent period.
The Ministry proposes extending this deadline to three years after the end of the tax period. Within that same period, a claimant may amend a previous compensation claim by filing a new return. Once the three-year deadline has passed, a claimant who needs to amend an earlier claim must instead ask the tax authorities to reopen the case.
The Ministry also proposes widening the tax authorities' ability to amend a compensation assessment in the claimant's favour. The general rules of the Tax Administration Act would then apply, giving a five-year deadline for amendments in the claimant's favour – including where no return was filed in time.
The change is proposed to take effect on 1 January 2027.
The government proposes a price adjustment of excise duties for 2027, raising the duty rates on goods including alcohol, tobacco, road use, greenhouse gas emissions and lubricating oil.
The change is proposed to take effect on 1 January 2027.
The new Excise Duty Act takes effect on 1 January 2027. At the same time, it is proposed to transfer administrative responsibility for the CO2 tax on petroleum activities from the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance to the Norwegian Tax Administration.
The current rules on CO2 emissions will carry over without substantive changes. Operators will remain liable for the tax and registered in the Excise Duty Register and must file excise duty tax returns.
The change is proposed to take effect on 1 January 2027.
The government proposes to reduce the remaining customs duty on clothing and textiles to a single rate of 5%.
The aim is to even out the current difference in treatment between foreign sellers using the simplified VOEC registration scheme and Norwegian importers. VOEC sellers currently pay no customs duty on export sales of clothing, while Norwegian importers must pay customs duty when importing clothing.
The government also proposes setting the customs duty at 0% for seven tariff codes covering fish and marine products. The proposal covers items such as dead fish unfit for human consumption, fish fat and oil used for animal feed, and whale meat extracts.