NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Thea Slethaug, Axel Bjørke, Sigbjørn Sørensen and Jarand Aarhus, Aider Legal
7.2 Exchange of Information Clauses in Tax Agreements Norway participates in all major forms of information exchange, including the following: • On-request exchange: Norway responds to requests from treaty partners for specific taxpayer information. • Spontaneous exchange: Norway proactively shares information with foreign authorities when it believes information may be relevant, without a prior request. • Automatic exchange: Norway participates fully in automatic exchange under CRS/AEOI (financial account information) and CbCR exchange. Norway also exchanges information on tax rulings under the OECD framework. 7.3 Other Forms of International Tax Collaboration Norway is part of the OECD’s International Compli - ance Assurance Programme. Norway also participates in extensive Nordic tax co-operation. The Nordic Tax Treaty (which applies to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) ensures equal treatment across the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries also co-operate through agree - ments on mutual assistance in tax matters, including exchange of tax information between the tax admin - istrations. Furthermore, the Nordic Agreement on Col - lection of Taxes (“ nordisk trekkavtale ”) enables cross- border assistance in the recovery and collection of tax claims between the Nordic states, strengthening enforcement against tax evasion and unpaid taxes. 8. Mutual Agreement Procedures and Arbitration 8.1 Availability and Legal Basis Norway has an active Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) programme. The legal basis is found in the MAP articles (typically Article 25) of Norway’s bilateral tax treaties, as well as the OECD/Council of Europe Mul - tilateral Convention.
The Tax Administration handles MAP requests. Nor - way has committed to the BEPS Action 14 minimum standard on improving MAP effectiveness and has had its MAP programme peer-reviewed under the Inclusive Framework. 8.2 Application Deadlines The deadline for submitting a MAP request depends on the applicable tax treaty. Most Norwegian trea - ties follow the OECD Model and provide a three-year deadline from the first notification of the action that results in taxation not in accordance with the treaty. Some older Norwegian treaties may have shorter deadlines. Taxpayers are advised to check the spe - cific treaty applicable to their situation, as deadlines are strictly applied. 8.3 Mandatory Binding Arbitration Norway did not opt into mandatory binding arbitra - tion under Part VI of the MLI. As a result, mandatory binding arbitration is generally not available under Norway’s tax treaties unless a specific bilateral treaty provides for it. Norway operates an advance pricing agreement (APA) programme administered by the Tax Administration. However, Norway does not offer unilateral APAs; the programme is limited to bilateral or multilateral APAs concluded with other countries. The legal basis derives primarily from applicable tax treaties contain - ing a MAP provision based on Article 25 of the OECD Model Tax Convention, under which the competent authorities negotiate and conclude APAs regarding transfer pricing for cross-border related-party trans - actions. 9.2 Other Mechanisms The Tax Administration issues binding advance rul - ings ( bindende forhåndsuttalelser – BFU) on the tax consequences of planned transactions. These rulings are binding on the tax authorities if the transaction is carried out as described in the ruling application. They 9. Dispute Prevention 9.1 Advance Pricing Agreements
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