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Norway tax row continues

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Norway tax row continues

Both Norwegian (NAS) and Ryanair warned this week that they plan to charge another 80 or 88 kroner to the credit cards customers had used to buy airline tickets for forward bookings placed before June 1, 2016 to cover the costs of the state’s new airline seat tax that took effect on June 1. This week, the Norwegian consumer watchdog ruled that such as more wasn’t allowed forcing NAS to drop plans, which will mean the airline will take a hit on all May bookings, pushing some forward booking deals close to a loss. Ryanair may yet intend to defy the ruling.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) had earlier announced that it won’t attempt to charge passengers retroactively for the tax, which amounts to NOK 80 for flights to destinations outside Norway and NOK 88 for flights within Norway, because the latter is also subject to Norway’s 10% MVA (VAT).

Tour operators running charter flights, however, quickly sent separate invoices to their customers who had paid in advance for trips after the tax took effect. Ryanair sent out a short press release this week indicating it will also seek to recover the costs of the tax from its passengers. For tickets purchased before June 1, Ryanair said it will charge NOK 80 to the credit or debit card used to initially pay for the trip. For reservations made and tickets purchased after June 1, the fare will include the new tax of NOK 80.