§ 65. Proceeds and interest on restitution
When the purchase is cancelled, you as the buyer must credit the seller with the yield the goods have produced (fruit, proceeds, rental income) and pay reasonable compensation for any substantial benefit you have had. The seller must pay late payment interest (forsinkelsesrente) from the day he received the purchase price until he pays it back.
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 purchase is cancelled, the buyer shall credit the seller with the proceeds he has had from the item and give reasonable compensation for any substantial benefit he has otherwise had from it.
(2) If the seller is to pay back the purchase price, he is obliged to pay interest under § 71 from the day he received the payment.
What does this mean?
Cancellation of the purchase is about restoring the balance, not about giving anyone a free bonus. It is measured in money.
You must give back more than just the goods (first subsection):
- Proceeds: If the goods have produced a yield — rental income from equipment that was rented out, fruit from a tree, cash dividends from shares — it must be credited to the seller
- Substantial benefit: If you have had substantial use and benefit from the goods, you must pay reasonable compensation for it
The idea is that you should not end up with free use. You have had a benefit; it is reasonable that it is compensated.
Minor use (you have used the bike twice) usually does not count — it must be substantial.
The seller must pay interest on your money (second subsection): From the day the seller received the payment, interest runs under § 71 (late payment interest). This is so that the seller does not benefit from having held on to your money in the meantime.
Examples
Marius bought a tractor for NOK 220,000. After eight months he cancels the purchase because of a serious defect (mangel). Over those eight months he has used the tractor in his work — estimated reasonable value of the use: NOK 35,000. Under § 65 (1), Marius must credit the seller NOK 35,000 for the benefit. In practice: he gets NOK 220,000 - 35,000 = NOK 185,000 back. The seller, for his part, has paid interest on NOK 220,000 from the day he received the payment. That interest goes to Marius (§ 65 (2)). In the end, it is the net calculation that counts.
Eva bought a holiday cabin for NOK 1,200,000 and rented it out. She received NOK 80,000 in rent. After a year she cancels the purchase because of hidden water damage (the Property Sale Act (avhendingslova), not the Sale of Goods Act — but the principle is the same). She must credit the seller with the NOK 80,000 in rental income. The seller must pay back the purchase price + interest from the day he received it.
Common mistakes
- Thinking you can keep the benefit of the goods without paying for it
- As a seller: forgetting that you owe late payment interest
- Calculating the benefit too high or too low — it should be reasonable
- Confusing benefit with costs
What should you do?
When settling up after cancellation of the purchase:
- Calculate the value of the use reasonably (market rent, comparable use)
- Calculate interest from the payment date until repayment
- Set up a spreadsheet with both items
- Agree in writing
- § 64Effects of cancellation of the purchase
- § 66Loss of the right to cancel the purchase
- § 71Late payment interest