Commercial Lawyers in Norway

The Commercial Law in Norway contains several bodies of law which refer to key aspects of the trade activity. As such the law regulates import-export activity, licencing for the industrial sector, price policy, contract making, marketing control and others. As a member of the EEA Agreement, Norwegian legislation has a lot in common with the commercial legislation of the European Union. Our commercial lawyers in Norway can give you more details on any aspect of the Commercial Law in Norway which might be of interest for your business activity in this country.

Company formation provisions in the Norwegian Commercial Law

According to the Commercial Law in Norway, a company can be organised in different legal structures:

• • sole trader – Enkeltpersonforetak, a type of legal structure which can be initiated by only one owner;
• • partnership – Ansvarlig selskap (ANS) which stands for the general partnership entity. There are no initial capital requirements for the formation of an ANS;
• • limited company – for which there are two options provided by the Norwegian State, differing in the amount of the initial investment capital, the public limited company (Allmennaksjeselskap – ASA) and the private limited company (Aksjeselskap – AS).

When an investor wants to open a company in Norway, the Commercial Law stipulates the steps which must be performed for the incorporation process. Checking that the company name is available and filling the application forms at the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprise are among the initial steps for the formation of your business. Our Norwegian commercial lawyers are ready to help you understand the differences and advantages of each legal structure in order to organize your business in the most appropriate form.

Corporate taxes in Norway

The Commercial Law in Norway imposes an annually calculation of the corporate taxes for the companies providing goods and services in this country. The taxes imposed by the Norwegian legislation on companies continued to decrease in the past few years, reaching 22% in 2019, the rate that still applies. The CIT (corporate tax) is charged for internal income as well as for revenues obtained from economic trade outside of the Norwegian borders. 

When a Norwegian company performs its commercial activity in a foreign country, the gains might be taxed in that country as well. Our commercial lawyers in Norway can explain you in detail how you can use the the double taxation agreements signed by Norway with other states, in order to be refunded for the tax overpayment abroad. 

In order to find out more about the legal provisions regarding the formation of a business in Norway as well as about Governmental programs which encourage investment in this country, please contact our commercial attorneys in Norway.