9 Taxation and customs duties
9.1 Tax on capital and income
9.1.1
Exemption from national and
municipal wealth and income tax is granted to:
a) Diplomatic
agents and career consular officers stationed
in Norway.
b) Members
of the families of persons
specified in a), provided they form part of the household of the person in
question and are not Norwegian nationals.
c) Members of the administrative and
technical staff of missions,
provided they are not Norwegian nationals or permanently resident in Norway.
d) Members
of the families of persons specified in c), provided they form part of the
household of the person in question and are not Norwegian nationals or
permanently resident in Norway.
9.1.2 The
tax exemption does not apply to private income derived from sources in Norway, income derived from shares in joint
stock companies and companies of similar status registered in Norway, or wages and other remuneration for work
carried out in Norway.
9.1.3 Honorary
consular officers are exempt from all dues and taxes on salary and other
remuneration received from the sending State for the performance of their
functions, provided they are not Norwegian nationals or permanently resident in
Norway.
9.1.4 Persons belonging to the service staff of missions are exempt from taxation on wages
received from the sending State, provided they are not Norwegian nationals or
permanently resident in Norway.
9.1.5 Private
servants of persons falling into the tax exemption categories set out in sub-paragraphs
9.1.1a) and c) above are exempt from taxation on wages received for their work
as servants, provided they are not Norwegian nationals or permanently resident
in Norway.
9.2 Real estate taxes
All
owners of real estate in Norway,
including foreign governments, have to pay municipal dues such as electricity,
water, rubbish collection and chimney sweeping.
Exemption
may be granted from the municipal property tax (which is a general tax, not
levied for specific purposes), as set out below.
a) Premises
owned by a sending State and used as
a chancery or as a residence for the head of mission or other members of a
mission are exempt from municipal property tax if the sending State exempts
corresponding Norwegian premises from similar taxes in that State.
b) Premises
not owned by a sending State are not
exempt from municipal property tax, even if owned by a member of a mission and
used by that member for residential purposes.
c) Rented premises
are not exempt from municipal property tax. According to Norwegian tax laws,
however, it is the landlord, and not the tenant, who is liable for municipal
property tax.
9.3 Customs duties
9.3.1
Missions are exempt from customs duties on goods/products imported
for official use, including alcoholic beverages bought through bonded stores
and motor vehicles. Alcoholic beverages imported free of duty by diplomatic
missions may not be used for commercial purposes.
9.3.2
Diplomatic agents and consular
officers are exempt from customs duties on:
a) household
effects and luggage; and
b) other
goods/products imported for their personal use only, including alcoholic beverages bought through bonded stores and
motor vehicles.
9.3.3 Members
of the family of a
diplomatic agent or consular officer are also exempt from customs duties as set
out in paragraph 9.3.2, provided that they form part of the household of the
agent or officer and are not Norwegian nationals or permanently resident in Norway.
9.3.4 Members of the administrative and technical staff of missions and members of their
families forming part of their households are exempt from customs duty on their
household effects and luggage when they first arrive in Norway, provided they are not Norwegian
nationals or permanently resident in Norway. Such effects should arrive
no later than three months after the arrival of the person in question.
9.3.5 Honorary
consular officers do not enjoy any customs privileges in Norway. However, office accessories
(such as flags, coats of arms, printed matter, etc.) provided by the sending
State and intended for official use may be imported exempt from customs duty.
9.3.6 Goods imported exempt from customs duty and
other dues become subject to them when they are sold or transferred to persons
in Norway
who do not enjoy privileges under the Vienna Conventions. Applications for sale
or transfer should be made by verbal note to the Protocol Department of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For further details of the rules relating to motor
vehicles, please see Chapter 10.
9.3.7 Commercial samples are not exempt from customs
duties.
9.3.8 It should be noted that, in principle, goods
for display at exhibitions are not exempt from customs duties. Exemption may,
however, be granted by Oslo
and Akershus Regional Customs Administration (“Tollregion Oslo og Akershus”),
on the express condition that all the items in the exhibition (except brochures)
are re-exported. The Customs Administration can be visited at Tollbugata 1a,
NO-0152 Oslo, or contacted by telephone on 22 86 03 00, by e-mail at oslo@toll.no, or by post at following address:
Tollregion
Oslo og Akershus
Postboks 8122 Dep
NO-0032 Oslo
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