"We will analyse the conclusions (of inspectors) … and may start lifting restrictions from Apr. 1," Sergei Dankvert told Reuters.
"This does not mean that the ban from all firms will definitely be lifted. Concrete decisions will be taken on concrete firms," he added.
Russia introduced the ban on fresh Norwegian salmon imports on Jan.1, saying the fish contained unacceptably high levels of toxic metals. Moscow also said Norway’s monitoring standards were inadequate.
Norway’s authorities have said various national checks had shown contents of cadmium and lead in fish were far below levels permitted by the European Union.
Last month Russia’s Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said Moscow and Oslo were close to a deal to lift the ban.
Dankvert said Norway had agreed to accept Russian inspectors to check the Norwegian system of food safety monitoring, of fish farms, fishing fleet and fish processing facilities in the middle of March.
He said that Russia was also examining with the European Union the possibility of creating an electronic system of monitoring sales of fish caught by Russian fishermen in the Norwegian economic zone to prevent illegal fishing.
The salmon ban followed an incident in October when the captain of a Russian trawler fled to Russian waters taking two Norwegian coastguard inspectors, who had boarded it on suspicion of illegal fishing.
The incident off the Svalbard islands north of the Arctic circle on Oct. 15 sparked a diplomatic row between Moscow and Oslo over the Arctic fishing rights — an issue of bitter disputes for decades.
Both Moscow and Oslo have denied any relationship between the incident and the salmon ban.