Peruvian foreign trade laws and regulations

1. Trade authorities

    The government departments in charge of foreign trade in Peru are mainly the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism and the General Administration of Customs. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health also have certain management rights over the import and export of related products. The main responsibilities of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism are: formulating, leading, implementing, coordinating and supervising foreign trade, tourism and handicraft policies. The General Administration of Customs mainly implements entry and exit management and tariff collection of goods, means of transportation, and personnel.

    2. Trade regulations system

The main laws related to trade in Peru are: Decree No. 1053 (General Customs Law), Decree No. 1036 (on the establishment of a one-stop office service window for foreign trade), Decree No. 1035 (on the application of trade-related investment measures agreement) ), Decree No. 1044 (Law on Suppression of Unfair Competition), Decree No. 1056 (On Implementation of the Origin System of Goods within the Framework of Trade Agreements), Law No. 28977 (On the Facilitation of Foreign Trade Act), etc. The legislative purpose of Law No. 28977 is first to establish a legal framework to facilitate customs procedures for the import and export of goods; secondly to formulate necessary measures to fulfill the customs procedures and trade facilitation commitments included in trade agreements signed by Peru with foreign countries. The General Customs Law and its detailed rules mainly provide regulations on the entry and exit management of goods, mails, means of transportation and personnel and regulations on customs duties collection.

    3. Relevant regulations on trade management

[Import Management] Since 2001, Peru has realized the positive significance of developing foreign trade in promoting national economic development and improving people's lives, and has since then begun to promote trade facilitation reforms. Since 2006, while striving to promote the diversification of export markets and non-traditional export products, the Peruvian government has decided to unilaterally significantly reduce import tariffs and simplify customs management measures. At present, except for products that damage Peru's sovereignty, security, good social ethics and disrupt market order, the import of capital goods, food, raw materials, etc. has been relaxed to the maximum extent.

[Export Restrictions] In order to protect genetic resources and cultural heritage, Peru imposes restrictions on animal products including live vicuñas, furs, wild birds and their products, plants with medicinal value and their products, and valuable mahogany, cedar, etc. Certain restrictions or prohibitions are imposed on the export of wood products and items with historical and cultural value.

In 2012, the Foreign Trade Committee of the Peruvian Congress revised the country’s non-traditional export promotion law. The modifications mainly focus on Article 7 of the bill, which stipulates that only those companies whose external sales exceed 50% of their production can enjoy the preferential policies granted by the promotion law as non-traditional export companies. This move may affect Peru’s exports of non-traditional products.

Article 32 of the bill, which was also revised, tightens contract requirements to avoid bad business operations, such as imposing punitive measures on companies that abuse the law to benefit and stipulating that companies should list the labor content of workers in contracts.

    4. Inspection and Quarantine of Imported and Exported Commodities

Peru's import and export inspection and quarantine varieties of animal and plant products are frequently adjusted and will be published on the website of the Quarantine Bureau in a timely manner. Enterprises can be inquired through the website www.senasa.gob.pe.

    5. Customs management rules and regulations

[Management System] The main function of the Peruvian Customs is to manage and collect tariffs on imported and exported goods, means of transportation, international stamps, and entry and exit personnel. Its management regulations are mainly reflected in the "General Customs Law" and its implementation rules. The General Customs Law is divided into ten parts.