Importing cosmetics and household products into Peru.

Cosmetics and cleaning products enter Peru on a notification, not a registration — but the notification must be filed in Peru by a local holder. Here is how the Andean NSO works under Decisions 833 and 706, the label rules, the tariff and the route for Paraguayan brands.

Notify, don’t register — but do it in Peru.

Peru, as a member of the Andean Community, does not register cosmetics or household cleaning products in the way it registers food or medicines. It applies a notificación sanitaria obligatoria (NSO) — a mandatory sanitary notification — under Andean rules: Decision 833 for cosmetics and Decision 706 for household hygiene and absorbent products. The file is filed with DIGEMID, the Ministry of Health’s medicines and health products directorate; once complete, the product receives a code and can be sold. The code is valid for seven years.

The tariff is a flat 6% for most finished products and there is no excise. The general tax stack — 16% IGV, 2% municipal tax and the IGV prepayment — is explained in our Peru customs guide. This article covers the NSO, labelling and what it means for Paraguayan products.

Three regimes.

Classification matters. A shampoo is a cosmetic; a shampoo claiming to treat dandruff as a disease is not. A surface cleaner is a household hygiene product; one sold as a hospital disinfectant or with a pesticide claim may fall under a different regime. Agree the classification with your regulatory adviser before preparing labels.

The NSO under Decision 833.

Decision 833 replaced the old Andean cosmetics rules and has applied since 1 March 2021. The NSO is a declaration, not an approval: when DIGEMID receives a complete file it assigns the identification code without a further evaluation procedure, and the product may be marketed from that date. If the file is incomplete, the code is withheld until it is corrected. The code is valid for seven years and can be renewed for the same period, under the same code, if renewal is requested before it expires.

The file, signed as a sworn declaration, normally contains the product name, brand, cosmetic group and form, the manufacturer and country of manufacture, the full ingredient list in INCI nomenclature, the quantitative formula for restricted substances, presentations, the draft label with warnings and directions for use, and proof of the fee. Decision 833 lets each member country decide whether to demand a certificate of free sale from the country of origin; plan to have one available, issued by the origin authority, because DIGEMID files commonly include it.

The procedure runs entirely through the VUCE single window, using the applicant’s SUNAT login. Submitting the form generates a bank payment code; the fee shown on gob.pe is S/1,303 per notification, payable at Banco de la Nación or through Págalo.pe. Because the procedure is of automatic approval, the resolution with the NSO number is issued once the payment is processed and can be downloaded from the applicant’s VUCE inbox.

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  Holder

  The NSO holder must be domiciled in Peru — in practice a Peruvian company with RUC, usually the importer or brand subsidiary.

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  Recognition

  An NSO issued in Colombia, Ecuador or Bolivia can be recognised in Peru on a short filing with a copy of the code and supporting documents.

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  Post-market control

  Because there is no prior evaluation, DIGEMID checks products on the market; non-compliant products can be withdrawn and the code suspended.

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  Changes

  Changes to formula, name or presentation must be notified to DIGEMID before the changed product is sold.

Law and practice: Andean Decision 833 (2018), in force from 1 March 2021 under Decision 857; arts. 7, 10, 18, 19 and Sixth Final Provision; Law 26842 (General Health Law).

The NSO under Decision 706.

Decision 706 covers productos de higiene doméstica — soaps and detergents for laundry and dishes, fabric softeners, air fresheners, bleaches and stain removers, household disinfectants and surface cleaners — and absorbent personal hygiene products such as diapers, sanitary towels, tampons and wet wipes, as long as they make no cosmetic or therapeutic claims. In Peru, DIGEMID receives these notifications on its own form.

The NSO is valid for at least seven years, renewable for successive periods; renewal is filed within the 60 days before expiry. The party responsible for marketing must be established in the Andean subregion. Products made outside the subregion — including in Paraguay — need a certificate of free sale or equivalent from the origin authority, no more than two years old at filing; where the origin authority does not issue one, an apostilled declaration by the responsible company is accepted. When a notification changes or expires, Decision 783 allows twelve months to sell off existing stock.

Law and practice: Andean Decision 706 (10 December 2008), arts. 7, 18, 19 and 21 and Annex 1; Andean Decision 783 (2013).

Spanish, the NSO code and the importer.

For household hygiene products, Decision 706 lists the mandatory label content: trade name and brand, manufacturer, NSO holder or importer, country of origin, net content, precautions and conditions of use, lot number, the NSO code, basic qualitative composition, storage conditions and, for internal absorbent products, expiry date. Explanatory text must be in Spanish; imported products must at least carry a Spanish translation of the precautions, warnings, conditions of use and storage. The NSO code and the importer’s details may go on a firmly attached supplementary label.

For cosmetics, Decision 833 allows sale only if the packaging meets the Andean labelling requirements for cosmetics: in practice the product name and function, net content, ingredient list in INCI names, the NSO code, lot, country of origin, holder or importer, and warnings and directions for use in Spanish. A supplementary Spanish label applied in Peru before sale is standard for imported products. Peru’s food octagons do not apply to either group.

Law and practice: Andean Decision 706, arts. 19–21; Andean Decision 833, art. 20.

6% and no excise.

Most finished cosmetics, soaps, detergents and absorbent products pay 6%; essential oils and products of heading 3808 are at 0%. Goods from Peru’s trade-agreement partners usually enter at 0% with proof of origin. There is no excise (ISC) on cosmetics or cleaning products and no anti-dumping measure on them in INDECOPI’s list of measures in force.

For a registered importer, IGV, IPM and the prepayment are credits; the only true border cost is the duty. For a first import the prepayment rises to 10%.

Law and practice: Arancel de Aduanas 2022 (Supreme Decree 404-2021-EF). Illustrative calculation; IGV and IPM base CIF + duty; prepayment base CIF + all taxes.

No Andean shortcut.

Paraguayan cosmetics and cleaning products enter Peru under ACE 58, mostly at 0% duty with a certificate of origin. What ACE 58 does not give them is the Andean recognition route: Paraguay is not an Andean Community member, so a Paraguayan product needs its own Peruvian NSO, filed by a holder established in Peru, with a certificate of free sale from Paraguay’s health products authority.

Paraguay does not appear as a significant supplier of cosmetics or cleaning products to Peru in 2025 trade data, so a Paraguayan brand enters a market without an established home-country presence. One practical path for a regional group: notify the product first in Colombia or Ecuador if it is sold there, then use Andean recognition to extend it to Peru, keeping the holder in each country.

Law and practice: ACE 58 (Mercosur–Peru); UN Comtrade data via Trading Economics (Paraguay exports to Peru, 2025).

Before the first shipment.

Where these rules come from.

Andean Decision 833 (cosmetics) · Andean Decision 706 (household hygiene products) · Andean Decision 783 (stock depletion) · DIGEMID — NSO form for household hygiene products · gob.pe — NSO for cosmetic products (procedure and fee) · Modelo.pe — cosmetic NSO before DIGEMID · SUNAT — Arancel de Aduanas 2022 · Trading Economics — Paraguay exports to Peru (UN Comtrade)

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