§ 78. Accounting and surplus after a sale
If you have sold the goods on the other party's behalf, you must credit them with the income from the sale and give an account of your costs. If the sale price is higher than the costs, the surplus goes to the other party. This means the sale is not a gain for you — it is only a way to resolve the situation.
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 party with the duty of care shall credit the other party with what has been obtained through sale or in another way, and shall give them an account of their costs. Any surplus goes to the other party.
What does this mean?
When you have had to take care of the goods, pay for storage and perhaps sell them, you do not come out ahead. You are only to be compensated for your losses, not to make money.
Three steps once the sale is completed:
- Credit the sale price: What you got for the goods is credited to the other party's account.
- Give an account of your costs: You set out all the expenses you have had — storage, transport, sales costs, the cost of sending notices, and any loss on repairs.
- The surplus goes to the other party: If the sale price is higher than the costs, the difference goes to the other party. They do not owe you anything; they have money to receive.
If the sale does not cover the costs: The other party then owes you the shortfall, which is claimed as an ordinary debt, with late payment interest (forsinkelsesrente), debt collection (inkasso) and so on.
Examples
Tom has sold the fridge the buyer (kjøper) never collected, for NOK 4,200 on Finn.no. His costs: storage NOK 4,800, notices and postage NOK 200, sales cost NOK 100. Total costs: NOK 5,100. Sale price (4,200) - costs (5,100) = NOK -900. Tom has a claim of NOK 900 against the buyer, in addition to the original purchase price (kjøpesum) the buyer did not pay. Tom sends an itemised account and claims the amount.
Eva has sold a rejected batch of goods for NOK 25,000. Her costs were NOK 8,000. Under § 78, Eva must credit the seller (selger) with the net amount: 25,000 - 8,000 = NOK 17,000. She transfers this to the seller along with an account. She cannot keep the surplus herself, even if that feels "fair" because she did the work of selling.
Common mistakes
- Keeping the entire sale price — not lawful
- Not sending an account — the other party must be able to check it
- Claiming unreasonable or undocumented costs
- Forgetting that the surplus belongs to the other party
What should you do?
After the sale / other disposal:
- Prepare a detailed account: sale price / value, costs item by item, net result
- Send the account in writing to the other party
- Transfer any surplus if relevant
- Claim the shortfall if costs > sale
Template for the account:
"Account for the goods [description]:
Sale price: NOK [X]
Storage costs: NOK [Y] (receipt attached)
Transport costs: NOK [Z] (receipt attached)
Notice costs: NOK [W]
Total costs: NOK [sum]
Net: NOK [net]
[Surplus transferred / Shortfall claimed]"