Quick Answer
If you sell beverages to customers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, or Finland, you need to charge a refundable deposit on bottles and cans — known as PANT (or Pantti in Finnish). Deposits range from about €0.08 to €0.40 per container depending on the country and size. Shopify doesn't support per-unit, country-specific deposits natively. Magical Fees lets you add the correct PANT deposit as a separate line item at checkout, per container, for the right country.
What You Need to Know About Nordic PANT Systems
The Nordic countries operate some of the most successful deposit-return systems in the world, with return rates above 85%. When you sell a beverage in one of these countries, you're required to charge a refundable deposit that the customer gets back when they return the container to a reverse vending machine.
Each country has its own system and rates:
Sweden (managed by Returpack / Pantamera)
- Small containers (cans and PET bottles ≤0.5L) — 2 SEK (~€0.17)
- Large containers (PET bottles >0.5L) — 3 SEK (~€0.26)
Both rates increased in September 2025.
Norway (managed by Infinitum)
- ≤0.5L containers — 2 NOK (~€0.17)
- >0.5L containers — 3 NOK (~€0.26)
Denmark (managed by Dansk Retursystem)
- Pant A (glass bottles <1L, cans <1L) — 1.00 DKK (~€0.13)
- Pant B (plastic bottles <1L) — 1.50 DKK (~€0.20)
- Pant C (all bottles and cans 1–20L) — 3.00 DKK (~€0.40)
Finland (managed by Palpa)
- Small containers (cans, small bottles ≤0.35L) — €0.10
- Medium containers (plastic bottles 0.35L–1L) — €0.20
- Large containers (plastic bottles 1L+) — €0.40
For official rates and operator details, see the national system websites: Pantamera (Sweden), Infinitum (Norway), Dansk Retursystem (Denmark), Palpa (Finland).
Why This Doesn't Work Out of the Box on Shopify
You need per-container fees that vary by country, container type, and size. Shopify's checkout doesn't support any of that natively. The common workarounds all have problems:
- Baking the deposit into your product price means you overcharge customers outside the Nordic region and lose the transparent deposit line item that the system requires.
- Creating a separate "deposit" product relies on your customers adding it correctly. They won't.
- Manual order editing breaks the moment you have more than a handful of orders.
How to Set Up PANT Deposits With Magical Fees
Magical Fees handles multi-country, multi-rate deposit logic cleanly. Here's the setup.
1. Organize your beverage products by container type
Group your products into collections or tag them by container type and size — for example, "Cans ≤0.5L," "PET Bottles >0.5L," "Glass Bottles <1L." The more precise your grouping, the more accurate your deposit rules will be.
If you only sell one container type (say, cans), this is simpler — one collection is enough.
2. Create deposit fee rules for each country and rate
In Magical Fees, create a fixed-price fee for each country/rate combination you need. Name them clearly — "PANT Deposit (Sweden, small)" or "Pant A (Denmark, glass/cans <1L)."
Set the fee to the correct local deposit amount. Target each rule to the matching product collection or tag. Set the calculation to per unit so the deposit scales with the number of containers in the cart.
3. Add country location conditions
Add a location condition to each rule so it only applies to orders shipping to the correct country. Your Swedish rules only fire on Sweden orders. Your Danish rules only fire on Denmark orders. Customers in non-Nordic countries won't see any deposit charge.
4. Test across countries
Place test orders shipping to each Nordic country. Verify that the correct deposit appears as a separate line item, it matches the right rate for the container type, it scales with quantity, and it doesn't appear for non-Nordic destinations.
Common Questions
Do you need to register with the national deposit system?
Yes. Producers and importers selling beverages in Nordic countries must register with the national system operator — Returpack (Sweden), Infinitum (Norway), Dansk Retursystem (Denmark), or Palpa (Finland). Registration is mandatory even if you're selling from outside the country.
What about packaging labels?
Nordic deposit systems require eligible containers to carry the official deposit logo. Unlabeled containers can't be refunded by customers, and you could face penalties. Make sure your packaging is compliant before you start selling.
Do you need to accept returns as an online seller?
Generally no. Return obligations typically apply only to physical stores above a certain size. Online sellers collect the deposit at checkout; customers return containers at designated collection points.
Can one rule cover all Nordic countries?
Only if the rate is the same. Since rates differ between countries (and even within countries by container size), you'll need separate rules per country-rate combination. It's a few more rules to set up, but each one is straightforward.
Further Reading
Always label deposits separately for compliance
Display bottle deposit fees as a clearly labeled, separate line item at checkout and on receipts. This meets regulatory transparency requirements, builds customer trust by showing exactly what they're paying, and makes it significantly easier to track deposits for reporting and audits. Use a clear label like "Bottle deposit" or "Container deposit (CRV)" so customers immediately understand the charge.
“Magical Fees is the only fee app that allows you to apply a fee based on a specific or individual state/province situation. All the other apps we tested only allow 'Location' (the entire country) which is a major limitation. The solution Magical Fees applies during the Cart to Checkout process is very smart and not a hassle. Very easy app to setup and the support was great.”