In Peru the tariff on alcohol is small and often zero; the excise is not. Here is how the ISC works for beer, pisco, wine and spirits, a worked example for a container of wine, the DIGESA registration and the labelling rules.
Peru’s duty on alcoholic beverages is modest — 6% on most lines, and zero for wine, beer and spirits from its many trade partners, including the Mercosur countries under ACE 58. The cost that shapes the shelf price is the Impuesto Selectivo al Consumo (ISC), Peru’s excise. For beer and pisco it is a fixed amount per litre; for wine and other spirits it is the higher of a fixed amount per litre and a percentage of value, which ranges from 20% to 40% depending on alcoholic strength.
Beyond tax, every alcoholic drink needs a DIGESA registro sanitario and a Spanish label carrying the statutory health warning. The general tax stack — 16% IGV, 2% municipal tax and the IGV prepayment — is explained in our Peru customs guide; this article covers what is specific to alcohol.
In the 2022 tariff schedule, beer (2203), wine (2204), vermouth and other fermented drinks (2205–2206) and spirits (2208) are almost all at 6% ad valorem on the CIF value. Peru’s trade agreements cover the main wine and spirits origins — the EU, the US, Chile, Argentina, Mercosur, the UK and others — so in practice most imported alcohol enters at 0% with a valid proof of origin. There are no anti-dumping measures on alcoholic beverages in force.
Law and practice: Arancel de Aduanas 2022 (Supreme Decree 404-2021-EF); INDECOPI list of trade-remedy measures in force at 26 January 2026.
| Product | Specific amount (per litre) | Ad valorem rate | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beer (2203) | 0.047% of the UIT (S/2.585 in 2026) | — | Specific amount only |
| Pisco (2208.20.21) | S/2.48 | — | Specific amount only |
| Other drinks, 0° to 6° | S/1.33 | 20% | Higher of the two |
| Over 6° to 12° (most wine, cider) | S/2.68 | 25% | Higher of the two |
| Over 12° to 20° (stronger wine, fortified wine) | S/2.89 | 30% | Higher of the two |
| Over 20° (spirits other than pisco) | S/3.97 | 40% | Higher of the two |
The table shows the amounts set by the latest resolutions published for alcohol. For beer and pisco, ISC is purely specific: a fixed amount per litre, whatever the price. For all other alcoholic drinks Peru uses an alternative system: the importer calculates both the specific amount (soles per litre by strength band) and the ad valorem amount (a percentage of the import value), and pays whichever is higher. Cheap, high-volume products end up paying the specific amount; premium products pay the percentage.
At import, the ad valorem base is the customs value (CIF) plus the duty. ISC then forms part of the base for IGV and the municipal tax, so excise is itself taxed. The soles amounts for pisco and the strength bands were set by Ministerial Resolution 030-2024-EF/15 from 1 March 2024 and are updated from time to time by ministerial resolution. Since July 2024 the beer amount is instead expressed as 0.047% of the tax unit (UIT) per litre under Supreme Decree 115-2024-EF, so it moves with the UIT each January: the UIT for 2026 is S/5,500 (Supreme Decree 301-2025-EF, published 17 December 2025), which puts beer at S/2.585 per litre, up from about S/2.51 at the 2025 UIT of S/5,350. The January 2025 update of fixed amounts, Ministerial Resolution 012-2025-EF/15, covered only cigarettes and heated tobacco, so the 2024 amounts for pisco and the strength bands were not changed by it. Confirm the amounts in force on the date of import with your broker. A larger increase for beer was reported as being prepared in June 2026, but the Ministry of Economy publicly ruled it out, and no change had been published by October 2026.
Law and practice: TUO of the IGV and ISC Law (Supreme Decree 055-99-EF), New Appendix IV, literals B and D; Supreme Decree 093-2018-EF and Supreme Decree 181-2019-EF (alternative system and rates); Ministerial Resolution 030-2024-EF/15 (fixed amounts from 1 March 2024); Supreme Decree 115-2024-EF (beer, 0.047% UIT per litre from 1 July 2024); Supreme Decree 301-2025-EF (UIT 2026: S/5,500); Ministerial Resolution 012-2025-EF/15 (tobacco amounts only).
| Wine, 25,000 litres at 13.5%, CIF US$100,000 | No preference, 6% duty | Argentine or other ACE 58 origin, 0% |
|---|---|---|
| Duty | 6,000 | 0 |
| ISC 30% (higher than S/2.89 × 25,000 l) | 31,800 | 30,000 |
| IGV 16% | 22,048 | 20,800 |
| IPM 2% | 2,756 | 2,600 |
| Taxes | 62,604 | 53,400 |
| IGV prepayment 3.5% | 5,691 | 5,369 |
| Total paid at clearance | 68,295 | 58,769 |
| Of which pure cost (duty + ISC) | 37,800 | 30,000 |
A 13.5% wine falls in the 12°–20° band. The specific amount is S/2.89 × 25,000 litres = S/72,250, well under US$30,000 at any plausible exchange rate, so the 30% ad valorem amount applies. For a registered importer, IGV, IPM and the prepayment are credits; the true border cost is duty plus ISC — 30% of CIF even with a zero tariff. For a first import, the prepayment is 10%, adding roughly US$10,000 to the cash needed at clearance.
The same arithmetic for a cheap bulk wine at US$1.50 per litre would flip: the specific amount would exceed 30% of value and become the tax. Model both before setting a price list.
Law and practice: Illustrative calculation. ISC ad valorem base: CIF + duty. IGV and IPM base: CIF + duty + ISC. Prepayment base: CIF + all taxes.
Alcoholic beverages are regulated as food and drink. Each product needs a DIGESA registro sanitario, granted through the VUCE single window per product or product group and per manufacturer and valid for five years. The holder is a Peruvian company with a tax number (RUC), normally the importer. For wine, the file typically includes an analysis from origin covering parameters such as free sulphur dioxide, copper, arsenic, lead and zinc, and a certificate of free sale from the exporting country’s authority; foreign documents are generally accepted only within a year of issue.
Peru has no separate federal-style import licence for alcohol and no state-by-state rules: once the importer has a RUC, the registro sanitario and a customs broker, it can clear goods nationwide. The sale and advertising of alcohol are regulated by Law 28681 and its regulation.
Law and practice: Law 28681 (sale, consumption and advertising of alcoholic beverages) and Supreme Decree 012-2009-SA; Supreme Decree 007-98-SA (food and drink surveillance); NTP 212.014 (wine).
Mandatory label information must be in Spanish: product name and country of origin, alcoholic strength in % vol, net content, ingredients and additives, manufacturer and importer (the importer’s details may go on a supplementary label), registro sanitario number and lot code. Wines with 10 mg/l or more of sulphites must state “contiene sulfitos”.
The statutory warning — “TOMAR BEBIDAS ALCOHÓLICAS EN EXCESO ES DAÑINO” — must appear on the label, occupying at least 10% of the label area. Alcoholic beverages are outside the scope of the octagon warnings of Law 30021, which apply to processed food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Law and practice: Law 28681, art. 8; INV Argentina country report on Peru (labelling requirements for wine).
Paraguayan alcoholic beverages enter Peru under ACE 58 at 0% duty with a Mercosur certificate of origin. The excise, the registro sanitario and the labelling rules apply exactly as to any other origin. Paraguay is not a meaningful exporter of alcohol to Peru today; the realistic opportunities are niche spirits such as caña and craft products for specialised retail, where the 40% ad valorem ISC on premium spirits is the main pricing constraint.
For a Paraguay-based distributor sourcing wine or spirits from Argentina or Chile for the Peruvian market, the better structure is usually direct shipment from the producing country to a Peruvian importer, invoiced through the regional company: origin is preserved, the duty stays at zero and the goods avoid the long Paraguay–Peru land route.
Tariff line, strength band and which ISC system applies.
Specific amount versus ad valorem; check which one bites.
Peruvian company with RUC, verified tax address, ISC and IGV registration.
Product analyses and certificate of free sale from origin.
Spanish label, % vol, registration number and the 10% health warning.
ACE 58 or other agreement certificate for 0% duty.
SUNAT — ISC Appendix IV, literal D (alternative systems) · SUNAT — ISC Appendix IV, literal B (specific amounts) · SZA — Ministerial Resolution 030-2024-EF/15 · El Peruano — Supreme Decree 301-2025-EF (UIT 2026) · El Peruano — Ministerial Resolution 012-2025-EF/15 · RPP — MEF rules out ISC rise, June 2026 · INV Argentina — Peru country report (wine) · VUCE — chain of procedures to import food and drinks · SUNAT — Arancel de Aduanas 2022
Generally 6% on the CIF value, and 0% for goods from Peru’s trade-agreement partners, including Mercosur under ACE 58, with proof of origin.
As the higher of a fixed amount per litre by strength band (S/2.68 or S/2.89 for most wine) and an ad valorem rate (25% or 30%) on CIF plus duty.
A fixed amount per litre of 0.047% of the UIT, set by Supreme Decree 115-2024-EF from July 2024 — S/2.585 per litre in 2026, with the UIT at S/5,500 — with no ad valorem alternative.
For spirits over 20° other than pisco, the higher of S/3.97 per litre and 40% of value; pisco pays a fixed S/2.48 per litre.
Yes. Each product needs a DIGESA registro sanitario, valid five years and held by a Peruvian company.
No. Law 30021 octagons apply to processed food and non-alcoholic drinks; alcohol carries its own health warning.
Tariff, IGV, the prepayment and ACE 58.
Peru next to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador.
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