Peru’s tariff is one of the lowest in the region; its sales tax and prepayment are not. Here is the tariff, the full tax stack with a worked example, the 2026 prepayment change, the broker rules, how Paraguayan goods enter under ACE 58, small shipments, the drawback and the free zones.
Peru is one of the most open economies in Latin America. Its tariff has only three rates — 0%, 6% and 11% — and 71% of tariff lines are at zero, including every capital good. The average nominal tariff is 2.2% and the effective tariff paid, once trade agreements are counted, is about 0.7%. For most goods, customs duty is a minor cost.
What importers notice instead is the 18% combined sales tax (16% IGV plus 2% municipal tax), the selective excise on some products, and the IGV prepayment — the percepción — of 3.5% to 10% collected at the border on top of the taxes. This guide covers the tariff, the tax stack with a worked example, the broker rules, the simplified procedure for small imports, how Paraguayan goods enter under ACE 58, the drawback, the free zones and the changes of 2025–2026.
For a side-by-side comparison of all six markets, see our regional customs guide.
Peru’s tariff schedule uses the Andean NANDINA nomenclature with national subdivisions. Rates are 0%, 6% or 11% ad valorem on the CIF value. Seventy-one percent of lines, covering 74% of import value in 2025 and all capital goods, are at 0%. The 6% and 11% rates apply mainly to consumer goods and some agricultural products; a price-band system can add variable duties on certain farm goods such as rice, sugar, maize and dairy.
On top of the general tariff, Peru has 24 trade agreements covering 59 economies and 87% of its exports, including the US, China, the EU, Japan, Korea, Canada, the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur. Goods from these partners usually enter at 0% with proof of origin, which is why the effective tariff is so low.
Law and practice: Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), tariff policy definitions 2025; El Peruano, 13 July 2026 (trade agreements).
| Charge | Rate | Base |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty (ad valorem) | 0%, 6% or 11% | CIF value |
| General sales tax (IGV) | 16% | CIF + duty + excise |
| Municipal promotion tax (IPM) | 2% | Same as IGV |
| Selective excise (ISC) | By product: fuels, vehicles, alcohol, tobacco, sugary drinks and others | By product |
| IGV prepayment (percepción) | 3.5% general; 5% used goods; 10% first imports and non-compliant importers | CIF + all import taxes |
| Anti-dumping or countervailing duties | Where imposed | By measure |
IGV and IPM are paid at the border and credited by the importer against IGV on its sales. The selective excise (ISC) is mainly a cost passed to consumers. The prepayment is the one that surprises newcomers: it is an advance on the importer’s future IGV, collected by customs on the full tax-inclusive value. Registered importers credit it against their monthly IGV return or ask for a refund, but first-time importers and those with poor compliance pay 10%.
Law and practice: SUNAT guidance on import taxes and the IGV prepayment; Law 29173 (IGV prepayment regime).
| CIF US$100,000 | Non-preferential origin, 6% duty | Paraguayan origin (ACE 58), 0% |
|---|---|---|
| Duty | 6,000 | 0 |
| IGV 16% | 16,960 | 16,000 |
| IPM 2% | 2,120 | 2,000 |
| Taxes | 25,080 | 18,000 |
| IGV prepayment 3.5% | 4,588 | 4,130 |
| Total paid at clearance | 29,668 | 22,130 |
| If a first import (10% prepayment) | 38,188 | 29,800 |
| Of which pure cost for a registered importer | 6,000 | 0 |
For a registered, compliant importer, the only true cost is the duty: 6% here, zero for Paraguayan goods. Everything else is a credit or an advance. The cash at clearance is still significant — around 30% of the CIF value — and it rises sharply for a first import because of the 10% prepayment. Plan the first shipment with that in mind.
Law and practice: Illustrative calculation; no excise. IGV and IPM base: CIF + duty. Prepayment base: CIF + all taxes.
In March 2026 Legislative Decree 1714 widened the cases in which the 10% prepayment applies, without changing the rates. The 10% now covers first imports (with a broader definition of “first”), importers without a tax number (RUC) or with a suspended or unverified tax address, importers who missed filings in two of the last twelve periods, and companies listed by SUNAT as “without operating capacity”. Used goods pay 5%; everyone else 3.5%.
Several imports are excluded, including temporary admission, express shipments up to US$2,000 and imports by designated IGV withholding agents. The practical lesson: register the importing company properly, keep its tax address verifiable and file every return, even nil ones, before the first shipment.
Law and practice: Legislative Decree 1714 (published 4 February 2026, in force 2 March 2026); SUNAT communiqué of 2 March 2026.
The importer needs an active RUC with SUNAT. For goods up to US$2,000 FOB, a simplified clearance procedure lets the importer file directly without a customs broker. Above US$2,000, the general procedure applies and a licensed customs broker (agente de aduana) files the goods declaration (DAM). If a valuation adjustment lifts the value to between US$2,000 and US$3,000, the simplified procedure can continue; above US$3,000 the goods move to the general procedure.
Documents
Commercial invoice, transport document, insurance, certificate of origin for preference, packing list and any sectoral permit.
Permits
Health (DIGESA, DIGEMID), agricultural (SENASA) and other approvals for regulated goods, through the foreign-trade single window.
Inspection channels
Green (release), orange (document check) and red (physical inspection), assigned by risk.
Anticipated declaration
Filing before arrival speeds release and is required for some regimes.
Law and practice: SUNAT procedures DESPA-PE.01.01 (simplified clearance) and DESPA-PG.01 (general import).
A foreign company without a Peruvian entity cannot be the importer of record in an ordinary import: someone with a Peruvian RUC must clear the goods. Most exporters therefore sell to a Peruvian distributor or customer, who imports, pays the taxes and credits them. Peru has no exchange controls, so payment in dollars is straightforward.
Sell to an importer
Price FCA, CPT or DAP; the buyer clears, pays IGV and the prepayment and credits them.
Your own Peruvian company
A SAC (sociedad anónima cerrada) imports, holds stock and sells locally. It must register for IGV, file monthly and avoid the 10% prepayment group from the start.
Bonded warehouse or temporary admission
Stock held under customs control until sold, or inputs processed for re-export without paying duties.
Express channel for samples
Samples and small consignments up to US$2,000 can use the simplified route.
Whichever model you use, contracts should say who carries the prepayment and how quickly the buyer will pay: an importer funding 30% of the goods’ value at clearance will negotiate longer payment terms.
Paraguayan goods enter Peru under ACE 58, the Mercosur–Peru agreement in force for Peru and Paraguay since February 2006. Peru grants Paraguay preferences of 90–100% on most tariff lines; textiles, footwear and leather are partly excluded. With a valid certificate of origin, most Paraguayan goods enter at 0%; check the specific tariff line in SUNAT’s database before quoting a price, because not every line reached zero.
Trade between the two countries is about US$250 million a year, with Paraguay in surplus, and business chambers are pushing to deepen ACE 58. The constraint is logistics. There is no working direct route between Paraguay and Peru’s ports: cargo travels by sea via the River Plate or Chilean ports, or by road through Bolivia or Argentina and Chile. The new megaport of Chancay, north of Lima, handled about 286,000 containers in its first year and is a transshipment hub to Asia; a Paraguay–Chancay corridor remains an aspiration, not a route.
Law and practice: ACE 58 (signed 2005; in force Peru–Paraguay 6 February 2006); InfoNegocios, July 2026; El Peruano, February 2026 (Chancay).
| Express shipments | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Documents | No taxes |
| Up to US$200 FOB | No duty or IGV |
| US$200 to US$2,000 | Taxes paid under a simplified procedure |
| Above US$2,000, or regulated goods | General import regime |
Express shipments up to US$200 FOB are free of duty and IGV, which makes Peru one of the more generous markets for small e-commerce parcels. SUNAT was reviewing that threshold in 2026, but no change had been adopted by October. Businesses importing regularly should not rely on courier channels: the simplified clearance procedure up to US$2,000 is the commercial route for small consignments.
Law and practice: SUNAT procedure DESPA-PG.28 (express shipments); General Customs Law, art. 147.
Peru refunds 3% of the FOB value of exports to companies that used imported inputs, under the simplified restitution regime (drawback). The government decided in 2024 to cut it to 1% and later to eliminate it, but reversed both in February 2025; the rate remains 3%. A new SUNAT procedure in force since February 2026 validates claims automatically and pays within five working days when approval is automatic, with a minimum claim of US$500.
For a Paraguayan group with operations in Peru, the drawback can matter if the Peruvian company processes imported inputs for export to third countries — for example, through Chancay to Asia.
Law and practice: Supreme Decree 027-2025-EF; SUNAT procedure DESPA-PG.07 version 5 (in force 2 February 2026).
Peru’s best-known free zone is ZOFRATACNA in Tacna, in the far south near Chile, where goods sold in the commercial zone are exempt from IGV, municipal tax and excise and pay a special tariff; in 2026 the authorised list was expanded to 1,618 tariff lines. Special economic zones (formerly CETICOS) in Paita, Ilo and Matarani offer customs and tax benefits for manufacturing and logistics. Temporary admission and bonded warehouses defer duties and taxes for goods to be processed or stored.
Law and practice: Law 27688 (ZOFRATACNA) and Supreme Decree 094-2026-EF.
Peru amended its General Customs Law in early 2026: cargo found undeclared or mismatched in extraordinary controls is confiscated, while carriers of transit or transhipment cargo can pay a fine within 30 working days instead of losing the goods. The regulations and penalty table were updated, and SUNAT revised its valuation procedure. A broader bill to replace the customs law — with longer temporary regimes, fines capped at 50% of the tax omitted and easier manifest corrections — was pending in Congress.
Law and practice: Legislative Decree 1711 (February 2026); Supreme Decree 076-2026-EF; SUNAT Resolutions 084-2026 and 102-2026; Bill 12218 (August 2025).
Callao, next to Lima, handles most of Peru’s container imports; Chancay, opened in late 2024 about 80 km north, is building a role as a hub for direct services to Asia; Paita in the north and Matarani and Ilo in the south serve their regions and mining. Because the customs value is the CIF value, freight and insurance are part of the duty and IGV base, which matters more in Peru than in Chile because the sales tax is 18%.
Beyond taxes, budget for the broker’s fee above US$2,000 FOB, terminal handling and storage, inland transport from the port and, for regulated goods, the sanitary or agricultural permits that often decide how long the goods wait. Peru also charges a small financial transactions tax (ITF) of 0.005% on bank movements — negligible, but it appears on every payment.
For goods from Paraguay, the landed cost is dominated by the route: the absence of a direct corridor means long transit times and higher freight than for Chilean or Brazilian destinations. Duty savings under ACE 58 are real, but they are rarely the deciding factor; the logistics plan is.
First import at 10%
Plan cash for the higher prepayment, or register and file properly first.
Tax address problems
An unverified address puts the importer in the 10% group.
Origin assumptions
Not every Paraguayan line is at 0%; check the line.
Value adjustments
SUNAT challenges declared values, especially for related parties and low-priced consumer goods.
Undeclared cargo
Now confiscated under the 2026 amendments.
Tariff line, rate, excise and permits.
Active RUC, verified tax address, returns filed.
Simplified up to US$2,000 FOB; broker above.
ACE 58 certificate for Paraguayan goods.
18% IGV and IPM plus a 3.5–10% prepayment.
Sea via Chilean or Atlantic ports, or road through Bolivia or Chile.
0%, 6% or 11% on the CIF value; 71% of tariff lines, including all capital goods, are at 0%.
The duty, 16% IGV and 2% municipal tax (18% together), excise on some products, and an IGV prepayment of 3.5% to 10%.
An advance payment of IGV collected at customs: 3.5% generally, 5% for used goods and 10% for first imports and non-compliant importers; it is credited later.
Most enter at 0% under ACE 58 with a certificate of origin, but some lines, especially textiles, footwear and leather, keep partial duties.
Not for goods up to US$2,000 FOB under the simplified procedure; above that, a licensed customs broker files the declaration.
Yes. Plans to cut it to 1% were reversed in February 2025.
Not as importer of record in an ordinary import. Foreign exporters sell to a Peruvian importer or set up a SAC with its own RUC.
Not on a regular route yet. Chancay is a transshipment hub to Asia; a Paraguay–Chancay corridor is discussed but not operating.
Express shipments up to US$200 FOB are free of duty and IGV.
The other low-tariff Pacific market.
Peru’s northern neighbour, compared.
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