Norwegian Customs ( no, Tolletaten) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

government agency under the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

with responsibility for "protecting society against illegal importation and exportation of goods and to ensure government revenues by correct and timely payment of duties and

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

es". Since 2017, the agency has been run by customs director Øystein Børmer.

Organization

The agency is organized into a central directorate, The Directorate of Norwegian Customs (in

''Tolldirektoratet''), and six customs regions. The directorate's role is to develop customs regulations, support of the customs regions, and to act as the point of contact for the public. The headquarters of the directorate are located in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

. In addition to customs services, the agency is responsible for performing tasks on behalf of other government agencies at the border, for example border control.

History

Customs in Norway has a long history. Already during Harald Fairhair's reign (c. 865-933), customs were collected in the cities on behalf of the king on all imported and exported goods. Collection of customs continued through the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, but there were still no designated customs officers. During the 1500s, customs were mainly collected by the lensmann, and by the 1630s a separate customs agency was established. Under Danish rule, Norwegian Customs were allowed to operate independently. Closer to the end of the

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, the amtmenn (who were selected by the Danish king) had a supervisory role over the customs offices. Following Norway's

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1814, the customs offices were under the control of different ministries, before it finally was put under the control of the Ministry of Finance in 1818. From 1929 to 1956 Wilhelm Ohlandt was head of the customs department. In 1957, the customs service was centralized into one agency, The Norwegian Directorate of Customs, which in 1974 changed its name to The Norwegian Directorate of Excise and Customs. In 2015, the role of collecting

excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

and

Value-added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

was transferred to the

Norwegian Tax Administration The Norwegian Tax Administration ( no, Skatteetaten) is a government agency responsible for resident registration (''National Population Register'') and tax collection in Norway. The agency is subordinate to the Ministry of Finance and is based a ...

. Following this change, the name was changed to Customs Norway.

Customs regions

*Customs region of Oslo and Akershus,

*Customs region of Eastern Norway,

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...

*Customs region of Southern Norway,

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

*Customs region of Western Norway,

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

*Customs region of Central Norway,

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

*Customs region of Northern Norway,

Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...

References

External links

www.toll.no
Official site
About Norwegian Customs

Customs Clearanceemma.no

Customs Services Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ha ...

Customs Norw {{Norway-stub