New regulation for the General Customs Law

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

The General Customs Law of Peru will change several of its regulations regarding sanctions for inaccuracies on Customs Value Declarations, the document which determines the total value of all items in a shipment and how much import duty must be paid by the importer.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance is working on a new Customs infringement and sanctions system that will review the current fines, which amounts to 200 percent of import taxes. “We are working intensely on this matter. Peru has a permanent modernization of the Customs instruments that will facilitate and ensure its international trade”, said Rafael García Melgar, director of the Peruvian Customs Agency (SUNAT).

The current infringement system has resulted in several complaints from local importers claiming that SUNAT is over assessing values. According to the 2018 Peru Country Commercial Guide published by Export.gov -a tool from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration that looks to help U.S. companies international sales- SUNAT’s priority is revenue generation rather than trade facilitation.