§ 10. Who pays for shipping and other costs?
The shop must cover all costs of getting the item to you, including customs duty and packaging. They can only require you to pay for shipping if this was clearly agreed before the purchase.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
The seller (selgeren) bears the costs relating to the item until it has been delivered. This section does not apply to costs arising from delivery being delayed due to circumstances on the consumer's (forbrukerens) side.
When the item is to be sent to the consumer, it may be agreed that costs resulting from the shipment shall be paid by the consumer in addition to the purchase price (kjøpesummen).
What does this mean?
The shop cannot send you an invoice afterwards for a "handling fee", "packaging materials" or "customs duty". All such costs until the item has been delivered are the shop's responsibility.
The big exception is the transport itself: if you have agreed that the item will be sent to you, it is entirely legal for you to pay for shipping. But the shipping price must be stated and agreed before you pay.
If extra fees appear on your online order after the purchase has been made, you can refuse to pay them.
Example
Anne buys a washing machine with agreed home delivery for NOK 499. The next day the shop demands an extra NOK 300 for customs duty and import from Sweden. Anne refuses, because customs duty and import are costs the shop must bear. She pays only the agreed 499 kroner.
Common mistakes
- Accepting hidden "processing" fees that appear after the purchase
- Believing that foreign online shops can leave you with a surprise customs bill
What should you do?
Check the total price carefully before you press "pay". Has the online shop added customs duty or shipping in an unclear way? Do not accept invoices with extra charges that turn up weeks later.