Importing Kenyan flowers into Norway: a 249% summer tariff on roses, a certificate, and a control the importer runs itself
Norway is Kenya's seventh-largest flower destination and sits outside the European Union's customs union and its plant health regime, so nothing on the EU page applies here. Its tariff protects domestic growers by the calendar, with a rate on summer roses that is prohibitive unless a preference is claimed. Its plant health law requires a certificate for roses, carnations, gypsophila and chrysanthemums, registers the importer, and then does something no other destination on this site does: it makes the importer carry out the receiving control. This page states all of that from the tariff and the regulation.
The regime, row by row
- Customs duty, roses, 1 November to 31 March
- None - the commodity line carries no duty Commodity number 06.03.1110 in the Norwegian customs tariff. The tariff states the line has no customs duty; ordinary rate 0 from 1 January 2015. Source read 26 September 2026
- Customs duty, roses, 1 April to 31 October
- 249% ordinary rate Commodity number 06.03.1120; the ordinary rate shown is dated 9 September 2026. The tariff states that the ordinary rate applies unless a preferential rate is claimed. Source read 26 September 2026
- Customs duty, carnations
- None - the commodity line carries no duty Commodity number 06.03.1210; ordinary rate 0 from 1 January 2015. Applies all year. Source read 26 September 2026
- Customs duty, gypsophila and alstroemeria
- 249% ordinary rate, all year; 0% for Kenyan origin on both lines under preference code G Commodity numbers 06.03.1995 (gypsophila) and 06.03.1996 (alstroemeria), ordinary rate dated 1 January 2007. With Kenya selected as origin, each line lists the preferential rate 0 for lower-middle-income countries (G), dated 16 June 2022. Source read 26 September 2026
- Customs duty, chrysanthemums
- None from 15 December to 15 March; 249% ordinary rate from 16 March to 14 December, 0% for Kenyan origin under preference code G Commodity numbers 06.03.1410 and 06.03.1420. With Kenya selected as origin, 06.03.1420 lists the ordinary rate 249% dated 18 May 2026 and the preferential rate 0 for lower-middle-income countries (G), dated 12 January 2023. Source read 26 September 2026
- Preferential rate for Kenyan origin
- 0% under Norway's preference for lower-middle-income countries (code G) on every 249% line read - summer roses, gypsophila, alstroemeria and summer chrysanthemums With Kenya selected as country of origin, the tariff view for 06.03.1120 lists one preferential rate - Lavere mellominntektsland (G), tollavgift 0, maximum 0, dated 16 June 2022 - beneath the 249% ordinary rate. The preference is claimed on entry with proof of origin; without the claim the ordinary rate applies. The same view lists one restriction, the Mattilsynet health certificate, in force from 26 March 2022. Source read 26 September 2026
- Value added tax on importation
- 25% Merverdiavgift at 25% on every cut-flower line read, in force from 1 January 2007. Source read 26 September 2026
- Mixed bouquets
- Classified by the flower that gives the bouquet its essential character The Norwegian lines state that other flowers in a mixed bouquet take the number of the flower that gives it its essential character - roses in summer pull the bouquet to 06.03.1120. Source read 26 September 2026
- Phytosanitary certificate
- Required, in original, for cut roses, carnations, gerbera, chrysanthemums, gypsophila and pelargonium Regulation on plants and measures against plant pests, section 19 and annex 5A items 4.1 and 4.2. Cut flowers of Orchidaceae need one only from Thailand. Genera not listed - alstroemeria, hypericum, statice - are not certificate-bearing under the annex as read. Source read 26 September 2026
- Certificate conditions
- Issued at the earliest 14 days before dispatch; in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English; typed or in block capitals; scientific names and quantities specified Section 20. Corrections only where clearly made by the issuing plant protection service. A re-export certificate must be accompanied by the original certificate from the country of origin. Source read 26 September 2026
- Importer registration
- Required, with Mattilsynet, before the business starts importing certificate-bearing plants Section 7, item f. Registration is done in DigiPlant, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority's import system. Source read 26 September 2026
- Advance import notification
- Not required for cut flowers under annex items 4.1 and 4.2 Section 23 lists the annex items subject to advance notification - 1, 2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.3, 4.4, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The cut-flower items 4.1 and 4.2 are not among them. Where notification does apply, it must reach Mattilsynet before the goods cross the border and before customs clearance. Source read 26 September 2026
- Receiving control
- Performed by the importer, or by a registered business on its behalf - documentary, identity and physical Section 23b - that the goods are accompanied by a conforming certificate, that the contents match it, and that the goods can be regarded as free of the regulated pests. Section 23e - certificate-bearing goods are kept together and may not be sold or used until the control has found no deficiencies. Source read 26 September 2026
- Reporting the receiving control
- Required for cut flowers only where the control finds a non-conformity Section 23d - the routine report applies to the same annex items as advance notification; for other certificate-bearing goods, the importer reports to Mattilsynet if the control finds the consignment is not in conformity. Source read 26 September 2026
- Failed consignment
- Isolated and held; a rejected consignment is returned or destroyed Mattilsynet's guide for new importers - deficiencies are reported, the goods are isolated and held pending a decision, and a rejected consignment must be returned or destroyed. Section 24 - the importer presents the goods where Mattilsynet decides to inspect. Source read 26 September 2026
- Fees
- The regulation's fee chapter is repealed; no import inspection fee was read Chapter VII, sections 30 to 35, is marked repealed in the consolidated text. Mattilsynet's guide points to fees only for export documents. Source read 26 September 2026
- Kenya's exports to Norway, 2024
- USD 25.3 million UN Comtrade via WITS, HS 060310, exporter-reported - Kenya's seventh-largest destination, up 11% on 2021. Source read 26 September 2026
These are published requirements, not a landed cost and not a quotation.
What this page is, and what it is not
This is a statement of the Norwegian customs tariff and the plant health regulation as consolidated, with the date each was read, and of Mattilsynet's own guidance to importers. It is not a customs ruling and not a quotation. One line a buyer needs — the preferential rate a Kenyan consignment can claim in summer — is published in the tariff's country view, which did not render for us, and this page says so.
The duty position: a calendar, and one number that decides the season
Norwegian cut-flower duty is set by the flower and the date. Roses imported from 1 November to 31 March carry no duty at all; from 1 April to 31 October the ordinary rate is 249%. Carnations carry no duty in any month. Gypsophila and alstroemeria carry the 249% ordinary rate all year, and chrysanthemums have their own seasonal split whose rates this page did not open. Value added tax is 25% on every line.
Read the summer rate for what it is. A rate of 249% is the ordinary rate, and the tariff says in its own terms that it applies unless a preferential rate is claimed. With Kenya selected as country of origin, the tariff shows a preferential rate of 0 on the summer rose line under Norway's scheme for lower-middle-income countries, code G, dated 16 June 2022. So a Kenyan rose consignment in July is duty-free if the preference is claimed on entry with proof of origin, and meets 249% if it is not, which makes the origin paperwork, not the tariff, the summer lane's decisive document. The winter rose season, November to March, is duty-free for everyone, and Valentine's falls inside it. How proof of origin is made and claimed →
Mixed bouquets follow the dominant flower. The Norwegian lines state that flowers of other kinds in a mixed bouquet take the commodity number of the flower that gives the bouquet its essential character. A summer bouquet built on roses is a 06.03.1120 bouquet whatever else is in it. The codes, and why the residual line carries most of Kenya's range →
Plant health: outside the Union, under Norway's own regulation
Norway is not in the European Union's plant health regime. Its regulation on plants and measures against plant pests applies instead, and it works on lists. Annex 5A names the plants that must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate in original: item 4.1 is cut flowers of gerbera, carnations and roses; item 4.2 is cut flowers of chrysanthemums, gypsophila and pelargonium. Neither item names an origin, so the requirement is on the genus wherever it comes from. Orchids need a certificate only from Thailand. Genera not listed — alstroemeria, hypericum, statice, eryngium — are not certificate-bearing under the annex as we read it. What each of those flowers meets on the other lanes →
The certificate has its own Norwegian rules. It must be issued at the earliest 14 days before dispatch; be in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English; be typed or in block capitals; specify the scientific names, contents and quantity; and carry no corrections unless the issuing service clearly made them. A consignment re-exported through another country needs a re-export certificate accompanied by the original from the country of origin. The certificate, field by field →
The importer registers, and then inspects the consignment itself
A business that imports certificate-bearing plants must register with Mattilsynet before it starts. Registration and, where it applies, notification are done in DigiPlant, the Authority's import system.
Then the part that is unlike any other destination on this site. The regulation places the receiving control — mottakskontroll — on the importer. The importer, or a registered business acting for it, checks that the goods are accompanied by a conforming certificate, that the contents match the certificate, and that the goods can be regarded as free of the regulated pests. Certificate-bearing goods are kept together and may not be sold or used until that control has found no deficiencies. Mattilsynet's guide tells importers they must have suitable premises to carry it out. A deficiency is reported to the Authority and the goods are isolated and held; a rejected consignment is returned or destroyed.
And the advance notification that most Norwegian plant imports need does not apply to these flowers. Section 23 lists the annex items for which the importer must notify Mattilsynet before the goods cross the border, and items 4.1 and 4.2 are not on it; the routine report of the receiving control follows the same list. For cut roses, carnations, gypsophila and chrysanthemums, then, the obligations are the certificate, the registration, the importer's own control, and a report only if that control finds something wrong. We state that as the regulation reads on 26 September 2026, with the caveat that the annex lists are amended often and the consolidated text carries a change in force from 1 October 2025.
Fees, and what is not published
The regulation's fee chapter is repealed, and Mattilsynet's guidance points to fees only for export documents. We have read no import inspection charge and publish none. How Norway's structure compares with the borders that do publish a fee →
The lane
Kenya's exports to Norway were USD 25.3 million in 2024 on the UN Comtrade series — its seventh-largest destination, larger than Germany's direct imports and growing. Much of it will have moved through the Netherlands first, and on that route the consignment meets the Union's rules before Norway's. Where Kenya's flowers go → The Dutch gateway →
What to ask
- Is the preference for Kenyan origin claimed on entry, and is the proof of origin in order? On the summer rose line it is the difference between 0% and 249%.
- Is the importer registered in DigiPlant, and who performs the receiving control — the importer or a registered contractor?
- Does the certificate meet the Norwegian conditions — 14 days, language, block capitals, scientific names, no corrections?
- For a mixed bouquet, which flower gives it its essential character? The tariff line follows the answer.
What we have not been able to establish
Each of these is a real question a buyer may put to us. None has an answer we can evidence from a source we have read, and we would rather say so than fill the gap.
- The chrysanthemum rates by season The commodity lines 06.03.1410 and 06.03.1420 exist; their rate pages were not opened.
- Whether any Norwegian special requirement attaches to Kenyan roses beyond the certificate Annex 5A puts roses on the certificate list; the annexes of pests and special requirements were not read genus by genus for a Kenyan origin.
Considering Norway?
Tell us the flower, stem length, head size, quantity, frequency, the season and the destination airport, and we will come back to you.
Questions buyers ask
Is there duty on Kenyan roses into Norway?
None from 1 November to 31 March; from 1 April to 31 October the ordinary rate is 249%, and the tariff shows 0% for Kenyan origin under Norway's preference for lower-middle-income countries, claimed on entry with proof of origin. Carnations are duty-free all year; gypsophila, alstroemeria and summer chrysanthemums carry the 249% ordinary rate with the same 0% Kenyan preference. VAT is 25%.
Do Kenyan flowers need a phytosanitary certificate for Norway?
Roses, carnations, gypsophila and chrysanthemums do, under annex 5A of Norway's plant health regulation, in original, issued no earlier than 14 days before dispatch. Alstroemeria, hypericum and statice are not on the annex as we read it.
Who inspects a consignment on arrival in Norway?
The importer. Norway's regulation places the receiving control on the importer or a registered business acting for it - documentary, identity and physical - and the goods may not be sold until it has found no deficiencies. Mattilsynet is told only if something is wrong, for these flowers.
Last verified 26 September 2026
Sources
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Norwegian Customs (Tolletaten) — Tolltariffen, heading 06.03 and commodity numbers 06.03.1110, 06.03.1120, 06.03.1210, 06.03.1995 and 06.03.1996
What we read
Read in the tariff application in a browser. 06.03.1110 roses 1 November to 31 March - no customs duty, ordinary rate 0 from 1 January 2015; 06.03.1120 roses 1 April to 31 October - ordinary rate 249% dated 9 September 2026; 06.03.1210 carnations - no customs duty; 06.03.1995 gypsophila and 06.03.1996 alstroemeria - ordinary rate 249% dated 1 January 2007; VAT 25% on each. The essential-character rule for mixed bouquets from the line descriptions. The country-specific preferential view did not render.
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Lovdata — Forskrift om planter og tiltak mot planteskadegjørere (regulation on plants and measures against plant pests), FOR-2000-12-01-1333, consolidated
What we read
Last amended by FOR-2025-06-10-1032 in force 1 October 2025. Section 7(f) registration of importers; section 19 certificate-bearing consignments and annex 5A items 4.1 (Gerbera, Dianthus, Rosa), 4.2 (Dendranthema, Gypsophila, Pelargonium) and 4.3 (Orchidaceae from Thailand); section 20 certificate conditions including issue no earlier than 14 days before dispatch; section 23 advance notification and the annex items it covers; sections 23b, 23d and 23e receiving control, its reporting and the bar on sale or use; section 24 presentation for inspection; chapter VII fees repealed. Read in Norwegian.
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Mattilsynet — Veileder for nye importører av planter med mer (guide for new plant importers)
What we read
Registration in DigiPlant; notification before the goods cross the border where it applies; the three receiving checks; suitable premises; the list of cut flowers that need a certificate; deficiencies reported and goods isolated; a rejected consignment returned or destroyed. Read in Norwegian.
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Mattilsynet — Veileder import av planter, April 2026 (plant import guide)
What we read
PDF linked from the import page. Chapter 3 registration and notification in DigiPlant; chapter 4 receiving control including identity control and the handling of a certificate that is wrong or absent; additional declarations placed in the certificate's additional-declaration field. Read in Norwegian.
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WITS (World Bank) — Kenya exports of 060310 Fresh cut flowers and buds, 2024, by partner
What we read
Norway USD 25.3 million, exporter-reported, seventh-largest destination, as read for the destinations page.