Note: An update of this article is pending. Please note that some terms and/or references may differ from the Movement of Goods Act and the Customs Duty Act that enters into force from the 1st of January 2023.
A product is considered to be wholly obtained in Norway (EEA) or a country that is a contractual party when only material originating in Norway (EEA) or the relevant treaty country is used.
Here is an extract of what is considered to be "wholly obtained" in Norway (EEA):
- Live animals born and raised in Norway (EEA);
- Products of live animals raised in Norway (EEA);
- Products obtained by hunting and fishing in Norway (EEA);
- Products of fishing and hunting and other products taken from the sea outside Norwegian sea territory by Norwegian (EEA) vessels;
- Products made aboard factory ships from products of fishing and hunting and other products taken from the sea outside Norwegian sea territory by Norwegian (EEA) vessels;
- Waste and scrap resulting from manufacturing processes in Norway (EEA);
As regards fish caught by fishing in the sea by vessels from Norway (EEA), the registration, ownership and crewing of the vessel are subject to special rules. These rules must be followed in order for the fish to be granted an originating status. The rules are, as follows:
The terms "vessels" and "factory ships of contracting parties" only apply to vessels and factory ships:
a. which are registered in or in a ship register maintained in a contracting party;
b. which sail under the flag of a contracting party;
c. where a share of at least 50% is owned by nationals of a contracting party or a company headquartered in one of these states, where the Chief Executive Officer or Directors, the chairman of the Board of Directors or Supervisory Board and the majority of the members of these bodies are nationals of a contracting party, and further, in respect of general partnerships or limited liability companies, where at least half of the capital belongs to these states or to public corporations or nationals of the aforementioned states;
d. where the shipmaster and the ship's officers are nationals of a contracting party; and
e. where at least 75% of the crew are nationals of a contracting party.
Fish caught outside the territorial waters and slaughtered farmed fish will be considered to be "made entirely" in Norway.
Waste and scrap from manufacturing activities
The definition of what can be considered to be "wholly obtained" includes, among other things, waste and scrap from the manufacturing activities that have taken place in a country that is a contractual party. This raises the question if trimmings and other waste from fish production can be considered to be "wholly obtained" so that waste from Russian fish can also be assigned EEA origin even if the waste is used to manufacture goods pursuant to Chapters 3 and 16. Shrimp shell, fishbone, entrails, etc. can usually be regarded as waste and scrap.
What can otherwise be regarded as such waste and scrap will depend on what is produced. It must therefore first be decided what is the primary product, for example, fillets, clipfish, etc. The waste after such production can be trimmings such as fins, residual flesh on bones, bones, etc. No unambiguous answer can be given, but an assessment must be made in each individual case.