A complaint by Norwegian salmon farmer Mowi against a levy placed on exports by the Norway Seafood Council has been dismissed by the European Free Trade Area’s (EFTA) surveillance authority ESA.
The Norwegian Seafood Council is financed by the seafood industry through a statutory levy on all exports of Norwegian fish and seafood.
Marine Harvest, now Mowi, made an official complaint regarding the levy in 2016, arguing the tax violated European Economic Area (EEA) regulations on state aid.
At the time, Marine Harvest said the levy may be an "illegal export and import restriction."
The company at that time paid NOK 70 million (€6.7 million /$7.9 million) in annual fees, insisting it should be able to leave the Seafood Council and use that money to market its own salmon.
In the wake of the EFTA/ESA case, the levy was cut, and the Norwegian Seafood Council budget was sharply reduced as a result in 2017.
The salmon producer also claimed the fees were to the economic disadvantage of seafood products exported from Norway for sale in other EEA countries, compared with similar products sold on the domestic market.
Taxes, imposed through regulations on exports of fish and fish products, distorted competition and trade, the company argued.
They also claimed fees were used to finance the Norwegian Seafood Council's domestic marketing and activities to promote the consumption of Norwegian seafood.
In 2016, ESA said that the export tax could distort competition, and asked the Norwegian authorities for an explanation.
In 2017, however it rejected the lawsuit related to illegal state aid, but the case was still not finally settled.
It remained for ESA to decide whether the levy and the Norwegian Seafood Council's activity in Norway were to be regarded as a breach of the EEA Agreement.
ESA's new ruling finds no indication of an ongoing breach of EEA rules meaning it will not pursue the case further.
Senior adviser Martine Werring-Westly at the Ministry of Trade and Industry notified the Seafood Council in an email, which IntraFish sister publication Fiskeribladet has seen.
The decision made in June was received by Norwegian authorities at the end of July.
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