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1.5 Exporting services

Exporting services means selling consulting, software, tourism or design to customers in other countries. There is no customs office involved, but there is a contract, payment in foreign currency and IGV rules you must follow.

Module 1: International trade today · Reviewed on 20/10/2026 · Español

Goal: Recognize when selling a service to a foreign client is an export without IGV and calculate the IGV on purchases that becomes a credit balance.

A service is something you do for another person and cannot store in a warehouse: consulting, software, a class, a trip. Exporting services means selling them to customers in other countries. There is no container or DAM, but there is a contract, payment in foreign currency and tax rules. According to UNCTAD, world trade in services was projected to have grown about 9% in 2025, faster than trade in goods.

The WTO classifies trade in services into four modes, under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), in force since 1995. Mode 1: the service crosses the border, not the person, such as consulting by video call. Mode 2: the customer travels to the provider's country, as in tourism. Mode 3: the provider sets up in the other country, as with a branch or a franchise. Mode 4: the person travels for a time to provide the service, such as an engineer on a construction site.

Peru exports travel services (foreign tourists who spend money in the country), transport services and business and knowledge services: software, design, audiovisual content, engineering, architecture, contact centers, education and food franchises. PROMPERÚ promotes these services with missions and business meetings.

The IGV Law gives special treatment to the export of services: it is exempt from IGV and you can recover the IGV on your purchases through the exporter's credit balance. For that, the service must be listed in Appendix V of the law, be paid for and be backed by a payment voucher; the provider must be domiciled in Peru, the user must not be, and the use must be entirely abroad. If one requirement fails, your service is taxed with IGV (18% in 2026, with IPM included). Review the Regulation and the list with your accountant.

Selling a service is very different from selling a product. Your “product” is your team and your reputation, so past cases, language and trust weigh heavily. The risk is not damaged cargo, but the customer who does not pay or the currency that moves. That is why a written contract is a good idea, with scope, deliverables, deadlines, intellectual property, confidentiality, governing law and payment method. Payment methods are covered in the Finance, costs and payment methods course.

Key ideas

Exporting services means selling a service to a customer in another country: no customs office is involved, but there is a contract, payment and tax rules.
The WTO distinguishes four modes: cross-border supply, consumption abroad, commercial presence and presence of natural persons.
Inbound tourism is a service export: the customer travels to Peru and spends here.
To be an IGV-exempt export, the service must be in Appendix V and meet the requirements of the IGV Law.
The provider must be domiciled in Peru, the user must not be, and the service must be used entirely outside the country.
A written contract sets scope, deliverables, intellectual property, payment method and governing law.

Mode (WTO)	What happens	Peruvian example
1. Cross-border supply	The service crosses the border, not the person.	A Lima studio designs an app for a customer in Mexico and delivers it over the internet.
2. Consumption abroad	The customer moves to the provider's country.	A tourist visits Machu Picchu and pays for lodging, food and a guide in Peru.
3. Commercial presence	The provider sets up in the other country.	A Peruvian restaurant opens a location in another country.
4. Presence of natural persons	A person travels temporarily to provide the service.	A Peruvian engineer supervises a project abroad for a few months.

Worked example

Invoicing a design service to a customer in Mexico

Studio Pampa S.A.C. (a fictional company from Lima) designs application interfaces. A startup in Mexico City, not domiciled in Peru, orders 120 hours of work at US$ 50 per hour: 120 × 50 = US$ 6,000.
It checks the export requirements: the service is in Appendix V (confirmed with its accountant), it is paid for and backed by an electronic invoice, the provider is domiciled in Peru, the customer is not, and the application will be used entirely in Mexico.
Because it meets everything, the invoice is for US$ 6,000 without IGV. If it were a local sale taxed at 18%, the IGV would have been 6,000 × 18% = US$ 1,080.
During the month, Studio Pampa buys local services (accountant, internet and office) for US$ 800 plus 18% IGV: 800 × 18% = US$ 144 of IGV on its purchases.
Because its sale carries no IGV, that US$ 144 is not offset against taxed sales and becomes an exporter's credit balance, which it can claim from SUNAT under the rules in force.
It agrees on payment: 50% at the start (US$ 3,000) and 50% on delivery (US$ 3,000), through a payment platform with a 3% fee. Total fee: 6,000 × 3% = US$ 180.
It calculates the margin. Costs: team US$ 2,800 + local purchases US$ 800 + fee US$ 180 = US$ 3,780. Gross profit: 6,000 − 3,780 = US$ 2,220, that is 37% of the sale (2,220 ÷ 6,000).
It signs a written contract with scope, two rounds of changes, delivery deadlines, intellectual property upon full payment and governing law.

Result: Studio Pampa invoices US$ 6,000 without IGV, keeps a credit balance of US$ 144 for its local purchases and earns a gross profit of US$ 2,220 (37%). Meeting the requirements decides whether the invoice carries IGV or not.

Real cases

Inbound tourism brought in US$ 4,860 million in 2024

2024

In its 2024 Management Report, MINCETUR reported that foreign currency income generated by inbound tourism was US$ 4,860 million, 30.2% more than the US$ 3,731 million of 2023. Inbound tourism is a service export in which the customer travels to Peru and spends here (WTO mode 2). It matters because it grew faster than goods exports (15.3%, up to US$ 74,521 million), although it weighs less in the total.

If your business is services, look at where the customer is: sometimes you do not take the service abroad, the customer comes to you.

Source: MINCETUR – Balance de Gestión 2024, Pliego 035 (sección 4.3.2)

The IGV Law defines when a service counts as an export

1999

The TUO of the IGV Law (D.S. 055-99-EF), in the current text published by SUNAT, provides that the services included in Appendix V are service exports and leaves it to the Regulation to set the requirements. It also requires, all at once, that the service be paid for and backed by a voucher recorded in the sales ledger, that it be provided by someone domiciled in the country, that the user not be domiciled and that the use take place abroad. It matters because, if you fail any of them, your service is taxed with IGV and your foreign customer would pay that extra cost.

Before issuing your first service export invoice, review Appendix V and each requirement of the law with your accountant.

Source: SUNAT – TUO de la Ley del IGV e ISC, Capítulo IX: De las exportaciones (artículos 33 y 33-A)

Common mistakes

Thinking that every service to a foreign customer is exempt from IGV. It must be in Appendix V and meet all the requirements; if one fails, it is taxed.
Charging without a written contract. Define scope, deliverables, deadlines, intellectual property and governing law to avoid disputes.
Forgetting the exchange rate and payment fees. Quote in the customer's currency, but calculate your cost in soles and add the fees.
Confusing a foreign customer with a customer domiciled in Peru. If the user of the service is domiciled in the country, for example a branch, it is not an export.

Practise with the calculators, the COMEX Simulator and the review questions on the main page.

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