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Customs expert warns of Norway delays in September

[ August 26, 2026   //   ]

Customs Support Group is warning exporters to Norway that a new clearance system could lead to delays in September. next month.

Norway starts the phased rollout of its new Digitoll system on September 15, which will make digital customs clearance mandatory and for all filings to be submitted digitally before goods reach the border. It replaces a system which is more than 25 years old and means all.

CSG says that despite the looming introduction, only 25-30% of daily road arrivals are registered with Digitoll, and adoption rates for air, sea and rail are even lower.

Digitoll has been compared to a ‘mini-Brexit’ in terms of its potential impact and the clearance solutions provider says many companies still underestimate how severe the delays could be.

CSG’s UK and Ireland managing director Keiron Myall, said: “The introduction of the Digitoll scheme reflects a trend we are seeing in several European territories – for example, the rollout of the Obligatory Logistics Envelope (ELO) in France. For any business shipping goods into Norway, Digitoll fundamentally changes the customs process. The ‘compliance window’ which currently exists will vanish – until now, that meant importers had 10 days to declare goods had arrived.

“Now, businesses moving goods into Norway have to register them with Digitoll before they reach the border or risk delays.”

He added that the responsibility for submitting Digitoll declarations sits with the transporter, a redistribution of liability that many importers have not yet registered.

The first phase of Digitoll will require digital compliance with reporting and information obligations, before full mandatory enforcement across all transport modes takes effect from 1 March 2027. After this date, no import can proceed without a pre-border declaration registered with Digitoll.

CSG Norway managing director Knut Espen Johansen said: “Digitoll is not just an issue for Norwegian importers. Exporters and logistics companies across Europe will also need to adapt established processes and ensure that the necessary data is available on time. In some ways, Digitoll is a mini-Brexit for Norway. Fundamental processes in cross-border trade are changing within a relatively short period of time.

“When the UK left the EU customs union, many traders discovered they had built compliance processes around a set of assumptions that no longer held. Digitoll creates the same risk in a Norwegian context.

“These new rules will turn the customs declaration regime upside down. Everything which could be done within 10 days of importation now needs to be done before goods reach the border, which is a major change and presents a significant risk of delays.”

Customs Support Group is running a free webinar on the introduction of Digitoll on Thursday, 3 September at 9am BST: sign up online.

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