How to import from China to Peru: steps, taxes and documents
Requirements, a step-by-step process, ad valorem duty, IGV and perception with a real cost example, and how to take advantage of the Peru–China FTA.
Supro Group team
Peru has an advantage that few countries in the region share: a free trade agreement with China in force since 2010. With the right certificate of origin, many Chinese products enter at 0% duty. Even so, a first import has its own rules, and one of them surprises almost everyone: the percepción del IGV (IGV perception).
Before you start: what you need to have ready
- An active RUC (taxpayer registration) enabled for imports with SUNAT (the Peruvian tax and customs authority).
- An agente de aduana (customs broker) for your commercial imports; low-value shipments have a simplified regime.
- The national tariff subheading (subpartida nacional) of your product, which determines the ad valorem duty and the permits.
- Health authorization from DIGESA (the environmental health authority) if the product comes into contact with food (cups, bottles, kitchenware).
- Spanish-language labeling for consumer goods.
Step by step
- Define the product, the quantity and the target price, and ask for a written quotation.
- Review and approve the samples.
- Confirm with a proforma invoice and pay the deposit (usually 30%).
- Ask the supplier for the FTA certificate of origin: it must be issued in China, before arrival.
- Pre-shipment inspection and payment of the balance against the report.
- Ocean transit: about 28–32 days to Callao.
- Your customs broker files and numbers the declaration (DAM, Single Customs Declaration) and you pay the taxes and the perception.
- Once release (levante) is granted, the goods leave the terminal for your warehouse.
Taxes: ad valorem, IGV and perception
- Ad valorem duty of 0%, 6% or 11% on the CIF value, depending on the subheading. With the FTA and the certificate of origin, many products pay 0%.
- IGV (general sales tax) 16% plus IPM (municipal promotion tax) 2% (18% in total) on CIF plus the ad valorem duty. For a company, it is a tax credit.
- IGV perception: an advance payment collected at customs and later deducted from the IGV payable. The general rate is 3.5%, but it rises to 10% on the first import and in other risk cases defined by SUNAT.
The perception is not a cost, but it does come out of your cash on the day of customs clearance. For the first import, budget for 10% and have that money available.
| Example: 5,000 units at USD 2.00 FOB, one 20' container to Callao | USD |
|---|---|
| Goods (FOB) | 10,000.00 |
| Ocean freight (reference) | 1,800.00 |
| Insurance (0.5%) | 59.00 |
| CIF value | 11,859.00 |
| Ad valorem (6%, without FTA) | 711.54 |
| IGV + IPM 18% | 2,262.70 |
| Port, customs broker and transport (reference) | 800.00 |
| Landed cost at warehouse | 15,633.24 |
| Per unit | 3.13 (2.67 without the IGV, which is a tax credit) |
| Perception (advance): 3.5% / 10% on the first import | 519.16 / 1,483.32 |
| With FTA and certificate of origin (0% ad valorem) | 14,793.62 · 2.96 per unit |
How to take advantage of the Peru–China FTA
The agreement's savings only exist if the certificate of origin is done right: issued in China by the authorized body, with the correct description and subheading, and submitted with the declaration. Ask for it from the quotation stage and review the draft with your customs broker before shipment. A certificate with errors usually means paying the full duty.
Summary
- RUC enabled for imports and a customs broker for commercial imports.
- Ad valorem 0/6/11% on CIF; with the FTA and a certificate of origin, often 0%.
- IGV + IPM 18% on CIF plus ad valorem, recoverable as a tax credit.
- Perception: 3.5% in general, 10% on the first import; it is an advance payment.
- About 28–32 days of transit to Callao.
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