Norway - Booze allowance?

Tim Good

Tim Good

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Sailing to Norway. Their allowance is pretty sparse when it come to booze which is 1 litre of spirits, 3 litres of wine (4 bottles) and 2 litres of beer (6 x 0.33 l).

Realistically how strict is this when entering in a private vessel? We're going for the whole of summer and I think I have more that on board already before provisioning. Any experience out there?
 
northcave said:
Oh gosh... Can you give me more info on that? Never heard of it?
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It's about loading duty-free booze and fags for use as "ship's stores" on foreign voyages. Mostly aimed at ferrries and cruise ships but, in the past at least, yachts could also take advantage. All the Tillman books mention taking on "bonded stores" under Customs supervision before departure on his voyages lasting many months.

I've not heard of people doing it this century, though, and in any case it doesn't particularly address your question about import into Norway.

Pete
 
northcave said:
Sailing to Norway. Their allowance is pretty sparse when it come to booze which is 1 litre of spirits, 3 litres of wine (4 bottles) and 2 litres of beer (6 x 0.33 l).
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Not terribly different from the allowance going in the opposite direction, although UK allows eight times as much beer. Before budgeting your trip you'd be wise to acquaint yourself with prices in Norway. Scarily un-cheap.
 
When I arrived in Norway I couldn't find a customs officer and the folk in the harbour office just offered their congratulations when I enquired about anything necessary for clearing in.

The limits on booze are per person, so arriving with a big crew is probably wise. I also encouraged any crew joining to make the most of their allowance when travelling through the airport on the way.

That said, I suspect that unless you get checked by a customs cutter I don't think they worry too much about foreign boats bending the rules a little. They're much more concerned with their own lot doing shuttle runs across to Sweden and back.
 
A few years ago I went for a sail with a guy called Martin Edge from PEYC (I crewed occasionally around the cans) who did a very good writeup of his extended cruise to the Lofoten islands. It may even still be found somewhere on their website.

Anyhow, he talked of a fella based in Lerwick who had a service doing exactly this sort of thing: he'd appear at the quay, ask if you were leaving the UK for Norway and then take booze orders. Couple of hours later, his van would reappear, loaded with your supplies, he'd help with the paperwork, and off you'd go, several inches lower in the water with enough to keep you going for several months. I've no idea if he's still around or not, but there are ways and means, I'm sure...
 
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1/4 bottle of spirits +1.5 litres wine per person per day is the allowance - form C945 at least 24 hours before loading.
Norwegian sailors have been managing this process on their return journeys for many years.
 
Woodlouse said:
When I arrived in Norway I couldn't find a customs officer and the folk in the harbour office just offered their congratulations when I enquired about anything necessary for clearing in.

The limits on booze are per person, so arriving with a big crew is probably wise. I also encouraged any crew joining to make the most of their allowance when travelling through the airport on the way.

That said, I suspect that unless you get checked by a customs cutter I don't think they worry too much about foreign boats bending the rules a little. They're much more concerned with their own lot doing shuttle runs across to Sweden and back.
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Crossing the border without contacting customs is considered to be the same as passing the green zone at the airport (= nothing to declare), customs can be contacted by phone if you bring goods that should be declared, you can risk inspection after the border crossing...
The Norwegian customs have information in English http://www.toll.no/en/about-norwegian-customs/contact-us/
The fine for one liter of booze above allowance (22% to 60%) is NOK 400 progressive to 10 liter NOK 9500, above 10 liter is a criminal offence..
Similar rates for beer and vine.

Ships stores with alcohol must be sealed by customs on entry, you must enter through one of the few ports that have a customs office to do that.
 
awol said:
1/4 bottle of spirits +1.5 litres wine per person per day is the allowance - form C945 at least 24 hours before loading.
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Sure, but this is all the UK Customs allowance for what you can take out duty-free. Nothing to do with what the Norwegians let you bring in.

Pete
 
knuterikt said:
The Norwegian quota is can be found here http://www.toll.no/en/goods/alcohol-and-tobacco/quotas/
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Thanks. And linked from that page, here's the basic principle on private import, including duty payable on amounts over the fairly small quota: http://www.toll.no/en/goods/alcohol-and-tobacco/private-import/

From down here on the South Coast, I can't comment on the OP's question of how rigorously this is policed. But it seems pretty clear that you can't legally take in a boatload of cheap booze to last the length of a holiday in Norwegian waters, even if it's commonly done in practice.

Pete
 
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