The Value Added Tax Act section 13 stipulates that VAT shall be calculated and paid on the sale of all goods and services, but there are several exceptions and exemptions from the duty to pay tax. They can be divided into two main groups.

The one group, exception from the liability to pay tax, comprises sales that fall completely outside the scope of the Act. Businesses that only have such sales, shall not be registered in the VAT Register, and they are not entitled to deduct input VAT. 

The other group, exemption from the liability to pay tax, comprises sales that fall within the scope of the Value Added Tax Act, but where the Act stipulates that output VAT shall not be calculated, the so-called zero rate.  A typical example of such sales is the sale of goods and services from Norway to abroad. The provisions of the Value Added Tax Act apply in full to such sales, including the rules concerning the deduction of input VAT. The Value Added Tax Act chapter 6 describe which sales are exempt.

VAT shall also be paid on withdrawals, for private use or for use in activities outside the VAT area, from businesses that are liable to pay tax.