§ 5. International purchases
When a Norwegian business buys goods from abroad, the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) normally applies — not ordinary Norwegian sales law. But if the trade is within the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland), the ordinary Sale of Goods Act applies.
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)
For purchases that fall within the scope of the UN Convention of 11 April 1980 on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, Chapter XV of the Act applies. This does not apply to purchases where the seller (selger) has its place of business (forretningssted) in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Sweden and the buyer (kjøper) has its place of business in another of these countries (Nordic purchase).
What does this mean?
When a Norwegian business buys something from a company in another country, the two sides cannot each just use their own law — that would be chaos. That is why the UN has created a shared rulebook called the CISG (United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods).
Three things you need to know:
- When the CISG applies: When the seller and the buyer are based in different countries that have accepted the convention — Germany, the USA, China and 90+ other countries. In that case it takes precedence over the ordinary Sale of Goods Act.
- The Nordic countries are an exception: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland have chosen to use their ordinary national sales laws among themselves, not the CISG.
- Consumer purchases (forbrukerkjøp) are not included: The CISG applies only when both parties are businesses (næringsdrivende).
In practice: If you run a company and buy machines from Germany, the CISG applies. If you buy from Sweden, the ordinary Sale of Goods Act applies.
Examples
Anne runs a small woodworking company and orders a CNC milling machine from a German manufacturer for NOK 350,000. The machine arrives with a fault in the control system. Here the CISG (the UN Convention) applies, not the ordinary Norwegian Sale of Goods Act. The rules are very similar to the Sale of Goods Act — Anne can demand repair of the defect (retting), a price reduction (prisavslag), cancellation of the purchase (heving), compensation (erstatning) — but the deadlines and some conditions are slightly different. This is set out in Chapter XV of the Sale of Goods Act, which incorporates the CISG into Norwegian law.
Ola runs a sports shop and orders helmets from a Swedish supplier. Here the ordinary Norwegian Sale of Goods Act applies (or the Swedish one if you have agreed on that) — not the CISG. This is because the trade is between two Nordic countries.
Common mistakes
- Believing the CISG also applies to consumer purchases — it applies only between businesses
- Forgetting that the contract can opt out of the CISG — the parties can agree that Norwegian law will apply instead
- Believing the rules are identical to the Sale of Goods Act — they are similar, but not identical
- Not knowing which country's law applies in a dispute — check the choice of law (lovvalg) clause in the contract
What should you do?
When you trade across borders as a business:
- Check the choice of law in the contract — what law has been chosen?
- Consider whether the CISG suits you — it can be opted out of if you want ordinary Norwegian law
- Agree on choice of court (verneting) — where should any dispute be resolved?
- Draw up clear delivery terms — use Incoterms (FOB, CIF, DAP, etc.) so that responsibility for transport and insurance is clear
For larger transactions: talk to a lawyer before the contract is signed. The CISG has pitfalls that can be costly.