Various provisions related to the reactivation, continuity and efficiency of operations related to foreign trade logistics chain were issued.
On May 10, 2020, Legislative Decree 1492 was published, through which important provisions related to the reactivation, continuity and efficiency of operations linked to the foreign trade logistics chain were issued.
Among the main measures provided for in this rule, the following stand out:
– Provision is made for the obligation of foreign trade operators to incorporate electronic processes for the validation of documents and information in general.
– Provision is made for the obligation of shipping companies or their representatives in the country, customs warehouses and cargo agents to maintain electronic mechanisms that enable, as appropriate, processes or procedures for commercial authorization of delivery or shipment of goods without physical presentation of the bill of lading or similar document, electronic verification of the representation of the cargo owner, consignee or consignor, etc.
– Details regarding the international maritime freight transport contract are established in relation to: i) the obligation for the parties of what is agreed in said contract; ii) the scope of the contract regarding the service provided, operations, administrative expenses and any related or supplementary costs or expenses related to the main service and necessary for the delivery of the cargo; and iii) publication of the details of the services provided in the information module on foreign trade logistics services by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR).
– It is provided that it is the responsibility of the owner, consignee or consignor of the cargo to pay those items, freely contracted by them, necessary for the delivery of the cargo.
– It is provided that the delivery of the cargo to the user of the transport service is not conditioned to any previous payment for services not previously contracted.
– The Securities Act is amended to include “endorsement in procurement” for the purposes of electronic accreditation of the cargo owner, consignee or consignor.
– Infringements are established for foreign trade operators in general, and for shipping companies or their representatives, customs warehouses and cargo agents, in particular, related to the non-incorporation in their processes of electronic mechanisms for validation of documents or information, the commercial authorization of delivery or shipment of the merchandise, collection or return of containers, etc.
The inspection procedures shall be carried out MINCETUR and the fines shall amount to amounts of up to 10 Tax Units (UIT).
– It is reiterated that the fact that the operators included in number 10.2 of the Foreign Trade Facilitation Act (Law 28977) constitute a violation do not submit and/or update the information that must be published in the information module on foreign trade logistics services by MINCETUR. Such non-compliance would result in initiation of a sanctioning procedure with sanctions not exceeding 10 Tax Units UIT.
For reference, the operators mentioned in section 10.2 of the aforementioned Act are the following:
The “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules on the Bill of Lading” is complained. By Supreme Decree No. 012-2020-RE, published on May 12, 2020, the Peruvian state has ordered the complaint of the “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules on the Bill of Lading adopted in the city of Brussels on August 25, 1924”. This Convention regulates international maritime transport, in order to establish the carrier’s obligations, cargo responsibility, among others. In accordance with the provisions of the Convention, the complaint must be notified in writing to the Belgian government, taking effect one year after such notification.
The suspension of the calculation of deadlines for processing administrative procedures is extended. By Supreme Decree No. 087-2020-PCM, published on May 20, it was decided to extend until June 10, 2020 the suspension of deadlines for: (i) processing of administrative procedures subject to positive and negative silence that are pending, in accordance with the provisions of Emergency Decree No. 026-2020; and, (ii) initiation and processing of administrative procedures and procedures of any kind, in accordance with the provisions of Emergency Decree No. 029-2020. The suspension of terms provided for includes the proceedings before the Customs Authority and sectoral entities with competence in foreign trade operations. It should be noted that the rule under discussion specifies, with regard to the generic suspension of deadlines referred to the Emergency Decree No. 029-2020, that the administrative entities are empowered to approve, by resolution of their holder, the list of procedures which are not subject to the aforementioned suspension of terms.
The establishment of the Virtual Court Registry of SUNAT was approved.
Through Superintendence Resolution No. 077-2020/SUNAT, published on May 8, 2020, the establishment of the SUNAT Virtual Court Registry (MPV) was approved, in order to facilitate the administration of the virtual presentation of documents associated to, among others, customs procedures (such as requests for tariff classification, refund requests for undue or overpayments, among others).
In accordance with this rule, the MPV is not used for the presentation of, among others, documents initiating automatic approval procedures, unless the rule of the matter expressly indicates that the MPV shall be used or, for example, the rule establish the presentation of an original document (such as a letter of guarantee).
This regulation also stipulates that the deadlines shall be computed depending on the time and day of presentation of the document, request or declaration, in accordance with the following: (i) between 00:00 hours and 16:30 hours on a working day, are deemed to have been filed on the same day; (ii) after 16:30 hours until 23:59 hours, shall be deemed to have been filed on the following working day; and, (iii) On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays or any other non-working day, shall be deemed to have been filed on the following first working day.
To access the MPV you must enter the following link: https://www.sunat.gob.pe/ol-at-ittramitedoc/registro/iniciar.
Deferment and/or Fractionation Regime of tax and customs debts administered by SUNAT is adopted.
By Legislative Decree No. 1487, published on May 10, 2020, the Deferment and/or Fractionation Regime (RAF) of tax debts administered by SUNAT and constituting income from the Public Treasury or ESSALUD was adopted, in order to grant payment facilities to those persons affected by the isolation and immobilization measures decreed by the government as a result of Covid-19.
The following are the main considerations to be taken into account:
1. The tax debts that are due until the filing date of the request for subscribing, including interest, discount and capitalized interest, may access the RAF. In particular, in customs matters, the following may be accepted:
• The customs tax debts contained in collection settlements that are outstanding at the date of submission of the request for subscribing, and which are linked to a determination resolution or fine resolution of the Sanctions Table applicable to the planned infringements in the General Customs Act or in the Act of Customs Crimes.
• The balances of a previous deferment and/or fractionation, granted on a particular or general basis, in force or with a cause of loss, on the date of filling of the request for subscribing even when the resolution declaring its loss has been notified.
• The customs tax debt whose challenge procedure is in process at the date of the presentation of the request for subscribing.
2. The RAFT may not deal with tax and customs debts included, as the date of presentation of the request for subscribing, in bankruptcy proceedings or in court or out-of-court liquidation proceedings, or with surcharges.
3. The applicant must meet, among others, the following requirements: (i) have submitted the monthly IGV affidavits and interim payments from March and April 2020; (ii) have decreased their monthly income, when third category income is received; (iii) on the working day preceding the date of presentation of the request for subscribing, they must not have a balance greater than 5% of the UIT in any of the accounts they have at Banco de la Nación for transactions subject to SPOT, nor income as collection taxation pending for said amount.
4. The maximum terms to be granted in the RAF are: (a) only postponement: up to 6 months; (b) deferment and fractionation: up to 6 months of deferment and up to 30 months of fractionation; and, (c) only fractionation: up to 36 months.
5. The interest rate is 40% of the Default Interest Rate (TIM).
6. By Superintendence’s Resolution, SUNAT shall regulate the form and conditions to present the request for subscribing to the RAF. The subscribing may be requested from the effective date of said Superintendence Resolution.
Agreement to continue trade benefits between Peru and the United Kingdom is ratified.
On May 21, 2020, Supreme Decree No. 015-2020-RE was published, through which it was decided to ratify the “Agreement for the exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of Peru and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain of North to extend mutatis mutandis the effects of the application of the Multi-party Trade Agreement”.
The objective of said Agreement is that both Peru and the United Kingdom preserve the rights and obligations derived from the Trade Agreement concluded between Peru and the European Union regarding tariff quotas, origin quotas, rules of origin and agricultural safeguards, considering the waiver made by the United Kingdom to the European Union.
The rule also provides that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must proceed to publish the full text of the aforementioned Agreement in the Official Gazette “El Peruano”, as well as the date of its entry into force. Finally, it must be noted that the text of the Agreement can be found at http://www.acuerdoscomerciales.gob.pe/. In accordance with the rule under discussion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must proceed to publish said text in the Official Gazette “El Peruano”, as well as set the date of its entry into force.
Provisions related to the procedure of Import for Consumption and recognition of merchandise are adopted.
On May 15, 2020, the Superintendence Resolution No. 084-2020/SUNAT was published, which shall enter into force on August 31, 2020, with which:
(i) version 8 of the General Procedure “Import for Consumption” is adopted, repealing version 7 of said procedure; and, (ii) provisions of the Specific Procedure “Physical Recognition-Extraction and Analysis of Samples” (version 3) are repealed and amended. Among the main amendments provided for in the rule under discussion, the following stand out:
• Incorporating additional assumptions to those established in article 62-A of the Regulations of the General Customs Act, which exempt the application of compulsory advance clearance. These assumptions refer to merchandise cases:
o Originating from an international customs transit to a national non-border arrival point.
o Entering in a simplified declaration and to be processed with a customs declaration of merchandise.
o Arriving as luggage or household items and whose treatment does not correspond to what is established in the Regulations of the special customs regime for luggage and household items.
o Corresponding to a partial dispatch, covered by the same transport document and arriving within twenty-four hours after the end of the unloading of the first shipment of advance dispatch. o Considering “current merchandise”.
o Consisting of used vehicles.
o Consigning to a subject not obliged to enroll in the RUC that for only once in a calendar year imports merchandise whose FOB value exceeds two thousand United States dollars (US$2,000.00) and provided that it does not exceed three thousand United States dollars (US$3,000.00).
o Which has been successively sold in the primary area.
o Covered in a single transport document with restricted merchandise and that is jointly destined in the same declaration. o Imported under Law No. 29973, General Act on Persons with Disabilities.
o Imported under Law No. 30001, Law on Economic and Social Reintegration for Returning Migrants.
o Imported under Legislative Decree No. 882, Law on Promotion of Investment in Education.
o Consisting of imported goods by diplomatic missions, consular missions, offices of international organizations or their officials.
• In line with the provisions of article 150 of the Regulations of the General Customs Act, express assumptions have been established in which the merchandise must be transferred to a temporary warehouse, such as that the merchandise: (i) it is dangerous and cannot remain at the port, airport, border service center or international land terminal; (ii) it was not intended until prior to transfer; (iii) it was intended and not released until prior to transfer.
An additional requirement is that of consolidated cargo that corresponds to different owners or consignees and cannot be deconsolidated at the port, airport or border service center.
• It is specified that the customs tax debt and the surcharges generated by the importation of legally abandoned merchandise cannot be supported with global or specific guarantees prior to the numbering of the declaration.
• It is foreseen that the mandate to the customs agent is granted by the owner or consignee, before the numbering of the customs declaration, by means of: (a) electronic means, in accordance with the provisions of the specific procedure “Electronic mandate” DESPA-PE.00.18, if you have RUC; (b) If you are not obliged to register in the RUC, by special power granted in a private instrument before a notary public or by endorsement of the transport document.
• It is pointed out that SUNAT shall not be obliged to meet the release deadlines in 24 or 48 hours when the corresponding documentary review or physical examination cannot be carried out or completed for reasons not attributable to SUNAT or when it corresponds to selected statements to orange channel (documentary inspection) that pass to physical examination.
• The following administrative acts may be notified through the electronic mailbox of the SUNAT Operations Online portal (SOL mailbox): (a) Request for information; (b) Resolutions of determination or fine; (c) Resolution that declares the provenance in part or inadmissibility of a request; and, (d) Resolution declaring the provenance whose execution is subject to compliance with the requirements of the Customs Administration.
On the other hand, the amendments to the Specific Procedure “Physical Recognition-Extraction and Analysis of Samples” (version 3) refer to prior examination, physical examination at the request of the party and physical examination ex officio.
The list of health-related goods subject to export restrictions is modified.
By Supreme Decree No. 017-2020-SA, published on May 11, 2020, provided for the approval of a new list of goods subject to restrictions for their departure from the country, under any customs regime, in accordance with the provisions of Supreme Decree No. 013-2020-SA.
In this new list, in addition to the goods that were previously considered (masks, gloves, among others), oxygen, ozone therapy devices, oxygen therapy or aerosol therapies, breathing devices for resuscitation and other breathing therapy devices have been included.
The departure from the country of the goods contained in the list approved by Supreme Decree No. 017-2020-SA, may only be carried out with the favorable opinion of the Ministry of Health. This restriction shall be in force during the national health emergency declared by Supreme Decree No. 008-2020-SA.
Provision was made for the ratification of various amendments to the Temporary Import Convention. By Supreme Decrees No. 008-2020-RE, 009-2020-RE, 010-2020-RE and 011-2020-RE, published on May 12, 2020, the following amendments to the Temporary Import Convention were ratified, related to:
• Amend the Illustrative List in Appendix III to Annex B2, referring to the temporary importation of professional equipment.
• Incorporate article 21A, referring to the exchange between the parties to the Convention of information necessary for its implementation, through electronic means.
• Incorporate the New Model ATA Notebook (“Temporary Admission”) from Appendix I to Annex A. The ATA Notebook is the temporary import title, used for the temporary entry of goods, excluding means of transportation.
• Amend the languages in which the CPD Notebook Model from Appendix II to Annex A shall be printed. The CPD Notebook is the temporary import title used for the temporary importation of the means of transport.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must publish: (i) the full texts of the aforementioned amendments; and, (i) its effective date. It should be noted that the Temporary Import Agreement, which is not yet in force in Peru, aims to simplify and harmonize customs regimes for temporary importation, through temporary import titles recognized by the contracting parties.
Provisions related to the electronic rectification of the customs declaration are adopted.
On May 11, 2020, Superintendence Resolution No. 00079-2020/SUNAT was published, through which the Specific Procedure “Request for Electronic Rectification of Declaration” – DESPA-PE.00.11 (Version 3) was approved. The main topics contained in this procedure are:
1. It is specified that the rectification of the customs declaration may be requested by means of the transmission by electronic means, file or through the electronic box of the user to the corporate electronic box of customs. Rectification also includes the cancellation or opening of series for merchandise covered by a declaration.
2. It is established that notification of the following administrative acts may be made to the electronic mailbox of the SUNAT Operations Online portal (SOL mailbox):
3. The following shall not be subject to rectification:
• The current account number of the guarantee referred to in article 160 of the General Customs Act (comprehensive or specific guarantee). This provision does not apply to the request for rectification transmitted by the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) to amend the nominal guarantee for a bond or surety policy when it changes from prepaid to deferred clearance.
• The incorporation of the guarantee referred to in article 160 of the General Customs Act, in the case of merchandise in legal abandonment due to expiration of the term for customs destination.
• The declaration whose merchandise has the status of “disposed” as a result of having been abandoned or confiscated, or the data of those series of declarations that have said condition.
4. This new version of the procedure shall be effective as of August 31, 2020. As stated in the rule under discussion, updating this procedure responds to the need to adapt it to current regulations and incorporate improvements in the process of rectification of the customs declaration of goods, continuing with the continuous improvement promoted through the Customs Facilitation, Security and Transparency-FAST Program.
Provisions related to the inspection of goods in the Callao Maritime Customs are amended.
Through Resolution No. 095-2020/ SUNAT, published on May 29, 2020 and whose validity has been scheduled for July 31, 2020, SUNAT ordered to amend various provisions of the Specific Procedure “Non-intrusive Inspection, Physical Inspection and Physical Recognition of Merchandise in the Customs Complex of the Callao Maritime Customs Administration ”CONTROL-PE.00.09 (Version 1). The amendments are related, in general terms, to the adaptation of the provisions of this procedure with the latest customs rules, as well as the Customs Facilitation, Customs Security and Transparency Program (FAST), optimizing the process of definitive export with the Customs Clearance System (SDA) platform, in order to facilitate, expedite, virtualize and improve the use of non-intrusive inspection in the Callao Maritime Customs Administration complex.
Conditions for the issuance and reception of Certificates of Digital Origin (COD) were updated.
Decision No. 856, published on May 26, 2020 in the Official Gazette of the Cartagena Agreement, provides that presentation of a digital Certificate of Origin shall also be valid for the purpose of providing the Community origin of merchandise, with electronic or digital signature, issued in accordance with community legislation. To this end, it shall be necessary for the member countries of the Andean Community that mutually decide to accept said certificates, to agree in advance and notify the General Secretariat of the Andean Community, which shall be responsible for bringing this agreement to the attention of the other member countries of the Andean Community within a maximum period of 15 working days.
The function of issuing Certificates of Origin to merchandise produced nationwide is delegated to the Chamber of Production, Commerce, Tourism and Services of Paita.
On May 1, 2020, Ministerial Resolution No. 078-2020-MINCETUR was published, which delegated to the Chamber of Production, Commerce, Tourism and Services of Paita the function of issuing Certificates of Origin to the merchandise produced nationwide, within the framework of the agreements signed by Peru, in the preferential and non-preferential regimes, for a period of 5 years. Previously, the aforementioned entity had such a delegation. However, the Chamber itself requested the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism to be granted the delegation again to issue Certificates of Origin at the national level. This request was accepted by the Directorate of the Origin Unit of the General Directorate of Foreign Trade Facilitation of the Vice-ministry of Foreign Trade, which made it possible to delegate the authority to issue certificates of origin. Accordingly, the Office of the Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade signed the agreement on delegation of authority signed with the Chamber, with a view to facilitating the delegation requested by the Chamber.
