Procedures for after setting up a company in Peru

The completion of the company incorporation procedure and the issuance of the certificate of incorporation is a milestone marking the birth of a business in Peru. However, in order for the company to be able to operate legally, it is extremely important to fully carry out post-establishment procedures. Viet An Law would like to guide you through some procedures after establishing a company in Peru through the article below.

Procedures for registering a tax identification number after setting up a company in Peru

List of documents to prepare

• A copy of the Notarized Document (Escritura Pública) registered at SUNARP.
• A copy of the Certificate of Company Registration issued by SUNARP.
• Identification of the legal representative of the company.
• If the legal representative is a non-resident foreigner, a consularly legalized/Apostille Power of Attorney (POA) and notarized translation into Spanish are required, along with the identity document of the authorized person in Peru.
• RUC application form in accordance with SUNAT regulations.

Apply at SUNAT

The legal representative or a duly authorized person will submit the prepared dossier at one of SUNAT’s offices. SUNAT has taxpayer service centers (Centros de Servicios al Contribuyente) to receive and process RUC applications. The SUNAT officer will receive the dossier, check the completeness and validity of the documents. Once the application is approved, SUNAT will issue a unique RUC Tax Identification Number to your company. Once you have been issued a RUC number, you will receive a RUC Registration Certificate. At the same time, SUNAT will also provide “Clave SOL” – an electronic password that allows the company to access SUNAT’s online services to perform tax declaration, tax payment and other procedures online.

Procedures for registering for the pension and social security system after setting up a company in Peru

For companies established in Peru that intend to recruit and employ workers, one of the post-establishment procedures is to register for participation in the country’s social security and pension system.

The main social security system in Peru that businesses need to register for is ESSALUD (Seguro Social de Salud). ESSALUD is a public health insurance system, which provides health care services to workers and their families. When a company registers with ESSALUD for its employees, it contributes a certain premium based on the employee’s salary. In return, workers will have access to a network of hospitals, clinics and other health services under the ESSALUD system when needed. ESSALUD registration is mandatory for all formal contract workers, regardless of nationality.

Besides ESSALUD, businesses are also obliged to enroll employees in the retirement system. In Peru, there are two main pension systems that workers can choose from:

• The National Pension System (Sistema Nacional de Pensiones – SNP) is administered by the state.
• The Private Pension Fund Management System (Sistema Privado de Administración de Fondos de Pensiones – AFP) consists of various AFP companies.

When recruiting employees, the company needs to ask the pension system survey they want to participate in. Every month, the enterprise is responsible for deducting part of the employee’s salary and contributing an additional amount as prescribed to be paid into the pension fund that the employee has chosen.

Tax declaration obligations after setting up a company in Peru

Main types of tax returns

Companies in Peru are often required to declare various taxes, the most common of which are:

• Value Added Tax (Impuesto General a las Ventas – IGV): This is a tax applied on the added value of goods and services. Most transactions of buying and selling goods and providing services are subject to IGV tax.
• Corporate Income Tax (Impuesto a la Renta – Tercera Categoría): This tax applies on the net profit that a company generates from its business.
• Other taxes (if applicable): Depending on the specific industry and operation, the company may be required to declare and remit other taxes such as Special Consumption Tax (ISC), registration tax, or specific contributions.

Frequency of declaration

The obligation to declare tax is usually carried out in two main periods:

• Monthly filing: For IGVs and provisional corporate income tax payments, the filing is usually done monthly. Every month, the company will summarize revenue, expenses and related factors to calculate the tax liability incurred in that month.
• Annual declaration: At the end of each fiscal year, the company must submit an annual corporate income tax finalization return. This declaration summarizes all revenues, expenses and profits of the whole year to determine the final amount of corporate income tax payable or refunded.

The deadline for filing and paying taxes in Peru usually depends on the last digit of your business’s RUC Tax ID.