Importing from China to Peru: a threshold decides which regime you are in
Peru sorts imports by value rather than by product. The customs authority splits them at US$2,000 of FOB value, which it defines as the value of the goods alone, excluding international freight and insurance. Above that threshold the full import-for-consumption regime applies. The identity gate is an active tax registration number, and the holder must not be recorded as untraceable.
Peru splits imports at US$2,000 of goods value, freight excluded. Below it a simplified dispatch, above it the full regime and an active tax number.
The threshold is on the goods, not on the shipment
Peru's customs authority sorts imports by value before it sorts them by anything else, and the line it draws is at US$2,000 of FOB value. Its own customs assistant presents the choice that way: goods up to US$2,000 of FOB value, or goods above it. Above the line, the regime is import for consumption, formerly called definitive import, which requires payment or guarantee of the taxes and compliance with the formalities.
The definition matters as much as the number. The authority defines FOB as the value of the goods as verified by customs, and states that it does not include international freight, insurance or other costs. So a consignment of goods worth US$1,900 with US$400 of freight sits below the threshold on goods value, even though the landed figure is above it. That is the opposite of the basis several other markets in this series use, where charges are assessed on the cost, insurance and freight total, and it is an easy thing to get backwards when planning a first order.
Note also that Peru applies a separate threshold in the other direction, at US$5,000 of FOB value for exports. The two are not the same number and are not interchangeable.
| Goods value, freight and insurance excluded | Regime |
|---|---|
| Up to US$2,000 FOB | Simplified import dispatch |
| Above US$2,000 FOB | Import for consumption, with payment or guarantee of the taxes and the full formalities |
The identity gate is the tax number, with genuine small-value exemptions
As in Mexico, the question of who may import is answered by the tax authority rather than by a trade ministry. The owner or consignee must hold an active taxpayer registration number, and must not carry the status of untraceable, which is the condition the authority records against a taxpayer it cannot locate. For commercial import dispatches, natural persons are obliged to use a taxpayer registration number.
Unlike Mexico, Peru publishes real exemptions for small consignments, and they are specific enough to plan a trial order around. Natural persons making occasional imports are not obliged to register where the FOB value per operation does not exceed US$1,000 and they record at most three imports a year. Separately, a natural person may import once in a calendar year at an FOB value above US$1,000 but not exceeding US$3,000 without registering.
Read those as sampling allowances rather than as a business model. Three small consignments a year is enough to test a supplier and a product; it is not enough to trade on, and the moment a business becomes a business the registration is the thing standing between it and the goods. So the useful question on a Peruvian enquiry is the same as in Mexico: is the taxpayer registration active, and is the status clean?
What the documents ask for, and which come from China
For the full regime the authority lists the single customs declaration, duly paid or guaranteed; an authenticated copy of the transport document; an authenticated copy of the invoice, equivalent document or contract; the payment voucher where goods are transferred before nationalisation; an authenticated insurance document where applicable; the authorisation of the competent sector for restricted goods, or a sworn declaration by the importer's legal representative where the specific rule requires it; a special primary zone authorisation where advance clearance with unloading at the importer's premises is used; the Andean Declaration of Value where it is required; and a packing list or additional technical information.
For the simplified dispatch the list is shorter and the declaration form itself is supplied free at the operating customs office. It also expressly contemplates a notarised power of attorney where a third party carries out the dispatch for the importer, valid only for the dispatch it is presented with.
Two items are prepared in China and are therefore our end of the job: the invoice, and the certificate of origin where the nature of the goods requires it. The Andean Declaration of Value is the buyer's, but it is built on the invoice, so a description and a value that will not survive scrutiny in Lima are problems created in the factory.
Restricted goods, and two things this page does not claim
Restricted goods need control documents from the competent sector, and the authority names the agricultural health service, the medicines regulator, the transport and communications ministry, the body that controls weapons and explosives, and foreign affairs among the sectors that issue them. If your product is anywhere near food, medicines, vehicles, radio equipment or anything controlled, establish which sector owns it before you order rather than before you ship.
The first thing we do not claim is that a customs agent is mandatory above the threshold. That is widely stated, and what we read establishes only that the threshold separates the simplified dispatch from the full regime. Confirm the agent question with a Peruvian customs agent before you plan around doing it yourself.
The second is currency. The pages we read on the customs assistant carry a last-updated date of 13 December 2017. Thresholds expressed in dollars are exactly the kind of figure that gets revised, and a nine-year-old page is not evidence that a number is current, only that it was published. Confirm all three figures, the US$1,000, the US$2,000 and the US$3,000, against the authority before you rely on them. This page also quotes no Peruvian duty rate, because no Peruvian tariff source was opened and checked.
What we can do for a Peruvian buyer, and what we cannot
The China-end work here is the goods and the paperwork that describes them: finding and vetting the factory, issuing an invoice whose description and value will support the declaration your side has to make, preparing a certificate of origin where the goods need one, obtaining whatever evidence a sector regulator asks of the manufacturer once you have told us which sector applies, inspecting before payment, and loading.
On commercial terms, we can quote a price to your own destination port, so Callao or Paita, and ex-works or a price to a Chinese port is there instead if your own freight forwarder is handling the sea leg. Door-to-door with duty and taxes included depends on the destination; ask, and we will tell you plainly which one applies. Because Peru's threshold is measured on goods value alone, tell us the goods value you are working to and we will keep the quotation transparent about what is freight and what is goods.
What we do not do is register you with the tax authority, act as your customs agent, advise on Peruvian customs law or obtain sector authorisations. Those are yours, in Peru. Tell us the product and say the goods are going to Peru in the first message. The wider picture is in the guide to buying from China from anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
What is the US$2,000 threshold in Peru, and what does it include?
It is the line the customs authority draws between the simplified import dispatch and the full import-for-consumption regime. It is measured on FOB value, which the authority defines as the value of the goods as verified by customs, excluding international freight, insurance and other costs. So freight does not push a consignment over it.
Do I need a Peruvian tax number to import?
For commercial imports, yes: the owner or consignee must hold an active taxpayer registration number and must not be recorded as untraceable. There are exemptions for natural persons importing occasionally, where the FOB value per operation does not exceed US$1,000 with at most three imports a year, or once in a calendar year above US$1,000 but not exceeding US$3,000.
Is a customs agent compulsory above the threshold?
We do not say. What we read establishes that the threshold separates the simplified dispatch from the full regime, not that an agent is mandatory. It is widely stated that one is, so confirm it with a Peruvian customs agent rather than planning to handle a larger consignment yourself on the strength of a summary.
Are these figures current?
Treat them as published rather than as confirmed current. The customs assistant pages we read carry a last-updated date of 13 December 2017, and dollar thresholds are exactly the kind of figure that gets revised. Confirm the US$1,000, US$2,000 and US$3,000 figures against the authority before relying on them.