Customs Regulations and Contact Information

The Peruvian Customs Authority has been reformed and modernized over recent
years, with help from the World Bank and the UN Development Program. As a result,
Customs procedures are almost completely automated. Collections have more than
tripled since 1991, despite dramatically lower tariff rates. A Customs Law was
promulgated in April 1996 to consolidate these reforms.

Imports with a FOB value over 3 UIT (taxable reference unit by its Spanish acronym)
pay a fee of 2.35% of one UIT for valuation service. For 2008 one UIT is 3,500 Nuevos
Soles (approx. US$1,170.) In practice Customs is applying a US$28 flat valuation fee.
Despite having signed the WTO customs valuation Peruvian customs uses a referential
price verification system (SIVEP by its Spanish acronym.) Customs checks the prices
of the Unique Customs Declaration (DUA, see Import Requirements and
Documentation earlier in this chapter) that go through a documentary or physical
inspection, comparing them to those in SIVEP database. If prices in SIVEP are higher,
Customs notifies the importer to support the price or to deposit cash guarantee to clear
the goods.

This system has prompted several complaints from local importers that Customs is
assigning values above the real ones. One U.S. exporter has complained that Customs
does not accept their invoices but values imports using price lists that do not consider
distributor discounts. For Customs to accept the invoice value it must be accompanied
by a price list, and the discount must be described and detailed in the invoice. Payment
terms must also be detailed. The Customs chapter of the US-PTPA address the
referential pricing issue and is consistent with Perus WTO obligations.

Since the market reforms of the early 1990s, the private sector has carried out all major
projects. Foreign companies have undertaken large projects, with financing obtained in
their countries of registration and/or from multilateral development banks. In recent
years, due to the Central Bank limit on the amount that Peruvian pension funds can
invest abroad, there has been intense local competition for lending, interest rates have
fallen below those in New York and London for creditworthy companies, and local
banks have increased their sophistication. The number of projects totally or partly
financed locally has grown since 1999. The three major banks involved in this area are
Banco de Credito del Peru, Banco BBVA-Continental and Citibank. Some projects,
such as the Camisea natural gas pipeline, have been partly financed by multilateral
development banks, including the IDB, World Bank and Andean Finance Corporation
(CAF), with procurement open to U.S. bidders. However, even when multilateral
development banks do not participate, companies seek to buy U.S. equipment and
other goods and services. Some projects have been structured with simultaneous or
subsequent financing from the local capital market (e.g. corporate bonds). The U.S.
EXIM Bank is an active market participant. It provided US$18 million in financing for a
cryogenic gas liquefaction plant, which was inaugurated in August 2005. In 2004-2005,
EXIM financed numerous small projects in the agribusiness sector. There are 12 active
EXIM Bank lenders/brokers operating in Peru.