Importing From India to Norway

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Ask what Norway buys from India and most people guess clothes or spices. The real answer is fish food. Norway's largest import chapter from India in 2025 was food-industry residues and animal feed, US$162.6 million, ahead of chemicals and electronics (our analysis of UN Comtrade, 2025). And India's own records show only US$19.4 million of it going to Norway, an 8.4-times gap, which says most of it travels through someone else's port or books first.

That matters because TEPA singled it out. This page covers what's Norwegian about buying from India under the agreement: the lines Norway opened, the VAT, what Norwegian controls stop, and how goods get there. The agreement itself and the self-declared certificate are on the EFTA bloc page.

Last researched 28 September 2026 · Next review 24 November 2026 · Written by SourcingFrom

1. What Norway's Schedule Opened

For Norway the official release names three things - duty-free access for several lines of food preparations and condiments, tariff cuts on rice for non-feed use, and a duty exemption of up to 13.16% on fish and shrimp feed (PIB, 30 September 2025 (opens in a new tab)). With salmon farming as big as it is in Norway, that last one is the line that fits the trade data.

If you import feed ingredients from India, the preference is only yours if the goods leave India with a TEPA proof addressed to you. Bought through a trader in the EU, they usually won't have one. So the question for a Norwegian feed buyer is whether to buy direct. Check your exact line in Annex 2.E, Norway's schedule (opens in a new tab), because some lines may phase down rather than drop at once.

For apparel, home textiles, leather and jewellery, the bloc-wide picture on the EFTA page applies.

2. What Norwegian Controls Stop

Norway raised 25 EU food alerts on Indian goods from 2021 to September 2026, and 22 of them were pesticide residues (our count of RASFF Window (opens in a new tab), to 23 September 2026). Hulled sesame with chlorpyrifos came up three times between October 2025 and January 2026. One notification in June 2026 was Indian rice that reached Norway "via Italy" (RASFF 2026.5745 (opens in a new tab)), which is the EU-hub route again. Test plans are on Quality control.

3. VAT and Customs

Norwegian import VAT is 25% at the standard rate, or 15% on foodstuffs (Skatteetaten, VAT rates (opens in a new tab), 2026 rates). Customs is Norwegian Customs (Tolletaten) (opens in a new tab).

On the India side, since April 2026 the invoice number on a preferential certificate must match the shipping bill exactly (DGFT Notification 05/2026-27 (opens in a new tab)). We read the rule only through a reproduction of the scanned PDF, so it's Reported. Ask for the draft certificate and the shipping bill together.

Norway is in the EEA, which brings many EU product rules with it. We haven't checked which apply for the categories our readers buy, so confirm with your broker before you rely on the EU bloc page.

4. How Goods Arrive

None of the carrier schedules we read in September 2026 listed a Norwegian port from India, so expect a relay through a North Sea hub such as Rotterdam or Hamburg and a feeder north. Get the whole route quoted, and make sure the TEPA proof names Norway as the destination, not the hub.

Next Step

The agreement and origin rules are on the EFTA bloc page. Every Indian agreement is on India's trade agreements.