§ 49. When do you have to pay?
If no time for payment has been agreed, you must pay when the seller asks for payment — but not before the goods have been delivered or made available to you. You normally have the right to inspect the goods before paying, but you cannot use this to delay payment by more than 30 days. If a bill of lading (konnossement) is used for the transport, payment can be demanded without you having seen the goods.
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)
(1) If the time for payment does not follow from the contract, the buyer (kjøper) shall pay when the seller demands it, but not before the goods are handed over to the buyer or made available to him in accordance with the contract and the law.
(2) Before the buyer pays, he nevertheless has the right to inspect the goods in the usual way, when this is not incompatible with the agreed procedure for delivery (levering) and payment of the purchase price (kjøpesum). As a result of such an inspection, the buyer cannot delay payment by more than 30 days, unless the seller has expressly agreed to this.
(3) If a bill of lading is used for transporting the goods to the place of destination, or the transport to the buyer otherwise takes place on such terms that the seller cannot dispose of the goods after payment, payment may be demanded against the bill of lading, consignment note (fraktbrev) or other proof that the goods are being transported on such terms. This applies even if the goods have not arrived or the buyer has not had the opportunity to inspect them.
What does this mean?
Three rules on when payment is due:
Main rule (first subsection): If nothing has been agreed about when you must pay, it is simple:
- The seller must ask for payment — you have no duty to pay on your own initiative
- You do not have to pay before the goods have been delivered or made available to you
In other words: money against goods. You do not pay until you have the goods or can dispose of them.
Right to inspect (second subsection): Before you pay, you have the right to check the goods in the normal way — open the crate, switch on the machine, check the facts. But this inspection cannot be used to delay payment by more than 30 days.
Exception: if a specific procedure for payment has been agreed that leaves no room for prior inspection (for example cash on delivery (oppkrav) or advance payment (forskuddsbetaling)).
Bill of lading (third subsection): In international maritime trade and certain other forms of transport, a bill of lading is used — a transport document (transportdokument) that gives the right to dispose of the goods. When such document-based trade takes place, the seller can demand payment against the bill of lading without you having seen the goods themselves. The logic: the document gives you the right to dispose of the goods, and without payment the seller gets the right of disposal back.
Examples
Lars has ordered a sewing machine from a private individual for NOK 6,500. They have not agreed when Lars must pay. The seller delivers the machine. Under § 49, Lars must pay when the seller asks for payment — typically the same day or in the days after delivery. He can ask to check the machine first, but cannot drag out the payment.
Eva has bought a used engine for NOK 28,000. She asks the seller to let her check that it actually works before she pays. The seller agrees — Eva brings a friend who is a mechanic and tests it. That is § 49 (2) in practice. Eva has the right to "inspection in the usual way". But she cannot drag it out for weeks — 30 days is the upper limit, and a reasonable time is often much shorter.
Tom runs a small company and imports grain from abroad by ship. The contract uses a bill of lading — that is normal in maritime trade. Under § 49 (3), the seller can demand payment against the bill of lading, not against goods in hand. Tom pays based on the documents that give him the right to collect the grain at the port. He cannot withhold money until the grain has physically arrived.
Common mistakes
- Thinking you must pay as soon as the purchase is agreed — you can wait until delivery or until the seller asks for payment
- Dragging out the inspection to delay payment — it is limited to 30 days
- As a seller: forgetting to ask for payment and being surprised that the money does not arrive
- Confusing the bill of lading rules with an ordinary collection purchase (hentekjøp)
What should you do?
As a buyer:
- Always agree on the time for payment in writing — it is simpler
- Inspect the goods before paying if you can
- If you want credit (kreditt) (pay later), agree on it clearly
As a seller:
- Ask for payment in writing as soon as the goods have been delivered
- Send an invoice (faktura) with a clear due date
- Consider late payment interest (forsinkelsesrente) (§ 71) if the payment drags out