Selling to Norwegian Businesses from Abroad: VAT, Registration and Work in Norway

Start with what you actually deliver

The rules depend less on where your company comes from and more on what you sell and where it is delivered. Before your first Norwegian contract, place yourself in one of three situations:

1. Remote services: software development, design, consulting, analysis, support or marketing, delivered from your own country to a Norwegian business.
2. Goods shipped to a Norwegian business customer, who usually imports them.
3. Work performed in Norway: installation, construction, maintenance, cleaning, on-site consulting or anything else where your people travel to Norway.

Many companies combine these, for example software built abroad plus a week of on-site training. Treat each part separately.

This guide is general information as of October 2026, not tax or legal advice. The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) has detailed English pages, and an accountant who knows Norwegian VAT is worth the fee before a large contract.

1. Remote services: the customer handles Norwegian VAT

When a Norwegian VAT-registered business buys services that can be delivered remotely from a supplier outside Norway, the Norwegian customer calculates and reports the Norwegian VAT itself. This is called reverse charge. You invoice without Norwegian VAT, and the customer usually deducts the same VAT again, so it is often cost-neutral for them.

What this means for you in practice:

• You normally do not need to register for VAT in Norway just to sell remote services to Norwegian businesses.
• Your invoice should show the customer's organisation number and make clear that Norwegian VAT is not charged by you. Ask the customer's finance team how they want it.
• Not every service counts as remote. Work tied to a place, such as construction, installation, events or services related to Norwegian property, can follow different rules.

The VOEC scheme you may read about is for low-value goods and digital services sold to consumers, not to businesses. It is not relevant for B2B sales.

2. When you may have to register for VAT

If you sell goods or services that are subject to Norwegian VAT and are not covered by reverse charge (for example installation work in Norway, or goods sold from a Norwegian warehouse), Skatteetaten says you must register in the VAT Register once those sales exceed NOK 50,000 over a twelve-month period.

• A business with no place of business in Norway registers through a representative who lives or is registered in Norway and is jointly responsible for VAT returns and payment.
• The representative requirement does not apply to businesses resident in the United Kingdom or in listed EEA countries with which Norway has agreements on information exchange and VAT collection. German and French companies should check whether their country is on that list.
• Before VAT registration, the business must have a Norwegian organisation number in Enhetsregisteret.

3. Do you need a NUF?

A NUF (norskregistrert utenlandsk foretak) is a foreign company registered in Norway, often described as a branch. According to Brønnøysundregistrene, every foreign company that needs a Norwegian organisation number must be registered as a NUF, and a NUF that carries on business in Norway has the right and the duty to register in the Register of Business Enterprises.

You typically need one when you register for VAT, employ people in Norway, or have ongoing business activity there. You typically do not need one to sell remote services to Norwegian businesses from abroad. Registration of a new NUF is done on paper with the coordinated register notification form, and Brønnøysund says it handles cases within ten working days of receiving them.

Remember that a NUF is not a separate company: the foreign company behind it is the legal counterparty, which is also why Norwegian customers check the foreign company in its home register. Our guide to verifying a Norwegian company explains how Norwegian buyers read these facts.

4. Sending staff to work in Norway

If your employees travel to Norway to perform work, plan for these duties well before the start date:

• Reporting to the Tax Administration. The Norwegian customer must report assignments given to a company abroad (form RF-1199), and the foreign contractor must report the employees who work on the assignment (RF-1198). The forms set a contract value threshold and deadlines; check the current versions on Skatteetaten's site.
• Documentation at the workplace. The Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) requires the employer to keep information on site about the posting, such as its duration and the workers' identities, in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
• HMS cards in construction. Everyone working on Norwegian building and construction sites must carry an HMS card, and the employer must make sure they have it.
• Pay and working conditions. In several industries generally applicable collective agreements set minimum pay, and public contracts often require Norwegian pay and working conditions throughout the supply chain.

These rules exist to prevent social dumping, and Norwegian customers take them seriously: a supplier who arrives with the paperwork in order immediately stands out.

5. Goods: who imports, and on what terms

For goods, the Norwegian business customer is usually the importer and handles customs clearance and import VAT, often through a forwarding agent. Your main tasks are to agree the delivery terms (Incoterms), provide correct commercial invoices and origin documents, and check whether your goods qualify for lower duty: Norway's trade agreements and its preference scheme for developing countries differ by country. Our guide to finding European buyers for Pakistani products walks through tariffs and product rules, and Norwegian Customs (Tolletaten) publishes the rules in English.

A short checklist before the first contract

1. Classify each part of the deal: remote service, goods, or work in Norway.
2. For remote services, confirm with the customer that they will apply reverse charge.
3. For work in Norway, map VAT, NUF, reporting and HMS duties, and budget time for them.
4. Check the customer: organisation number, status, VAT registration and accounts.
5. Put payment terms, currency and governing law in the contract.
6. If the value is large or the situation unclear, ask a Norwegian accountant or lawyer.

Where Propler fits

Propler covers Norwegian companies only. Use the free company search to check a prospective customer's register facts, VAT registration and filed accounts before you sign, and the AI search (free account) to find Norwegian companies that may need what you deliver. Propler does not give tax advice. For the bigger picture, start with finding business partners in Norway from abroad.