Peru to implement tax free for foreign tourists by June

16-04-23

The Minister of Tourism, Luis Fernando Helguero, announced that the implementation of the General Sales Tax refund for foreign visitors, Tax Free, would be implemented approximately in June.

In this regard, he said that the Council of Ministers had approved a Legislative Decree related to this issue, which will be published shortly and which has the support of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).  

The head of Mincetur pointed out that Tax Free is the system for promoting tourism through the refund of sales tax - or value added tax to tourists - on purchases made in the country they are visiting.   

Among the main benefits of this incentive we can mention: it will promote the formalisation of establishments dedicated to commerce, aimed at tourists; it will contribute to the achievement of sectorial goals, such as the increase in average expenditure and the generation of foreign currency; it will also promote shopping tourism and the multiplier effect on the arrival of international tourists.

In addition, it will generate increased sales in establishments targeting the tourist market, positively impacting the economy, as well as boosting commercial and economic activity in various tourist destinations.  

In this sense, with this strategy, foreign tourists will be able to spend more during their stay in Peru, which will have a positive impact on establishments that are registered and allow this procedure to be carried out.  

All this goes hand in hand with the actions we are promoting to attract international visitors. Since the beginning of March, Promperu presented Peru Now, the international campaign to reactivate tourism that seeks to position our country as a unique, diverse, safe and competitive destination, which has been achieving great success. It was expected that the social media campaign would have an impact of 30 million people by the end of this month and to date we have exceeded 27 million', said the head of Mincetur.  

On tax free  

Currently, SUNAT in coordination with the collaborating entity in charge of the implementation process of the Tax Free refund systems is working on the global adhesion and training of the businesses benefiting from this type of purchase incentive for foreign tourists.  

Worldwide, this incentive is present in more than 37 countries (the main countries in terms of number of tourists in the world: France, Spain, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom). In Latin America, the incentive exists in Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Mexico.