The real cost of importing adds purchase price, transport, insurance, taxes, local charges and financial costs. If you forget one block, your real margin will be lower than you calculated.
Goal: Arrange the cost of an import into four blocks and calculate the customs value that serves as the tax base.
The landed cost in your warehouse (known internationally as “landed cost”) is everything you pay from the moment you buy until the goods reach your storeroom, ready to sell. It is not the price on the supplier's invoice. It is the sum of several blocks, and each block is charged by a different party. That is why the most common beginner's mistake is to compare only the unit price and find out too late that the product ends up much more expensive.
Think of four blocks. The first is the purchase price: what the supplier invoices, plus packaging or inspection if you ask for them. The second is international transport and insurance: the freight (what it costs to move the cargo) and the insurance premium. The third is customs taxes. The fourth is local and financial costs: what you pay in Peru and what it costs to have your money tied up while the cargo travels.
Two values help you organize the figures. The FOB value (Free on Board) is the price of the goods placed on board at origin. The CIF value adds the freight and insurance to Peru. Customs calculates taxes on the customs value: it starts from the price actually paid and adds transport, loading and insurance up to the Peruvian port or airport, plus other adjustments covered in the course “Tariff Classification and Customs Valuation”. Who pays each leg depends on the Incoterm you negotiated (topic 1-4).
The taxes on the DAM are these. The Ad Valorem (tariff) is 0%, 6% or 11% for the vast majority of subheadings and is applied on the customs value. The IGV and the IPM add up to 18%: in 2026 they are 15.5% and 2.5%, and from 01/01/2027 they will be 15% and 3% (Law 32387), without changing the total. They are calculated on the customs value plus the Ad Valorem. Some goods also pay ISC, and certain products pay anti-dumping or countervailing duties. The detail is in the course “Customs Taxes, Trade Agreements and Origin”.
Not everything that leaves your cash is a final cost. If you have a RUC and sell with IGV, the IGV and IPM on the import are a tax credit: you deduct them from the tax you charge on your sales. The IGV perception (3.5% as the general rate) is also an advance that you apply later. But that money leaves your cash on the day of clearance. If your regime does not give a tax credit, those amounts are a cost. Always separate “final cost” from “cash advance”.
Local costs are those you pay in Peru: customs agent fees, port or airport charges, deconsolidation and storage, transport to your warehouse and bank fees. They are rates set by private companies: they are quoted, they are not in a law. Also add what looks small: tied-up capital, shrinkage and exchange rate risk. Set aside a buffer for delays that generate extra storage.
| Block | What it includes | Who sets the amount |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | Supplier's invoice, packaging, inspection | Your negotiation and the Incoterm |
| International transport | Freight and insurance to Peru | Quote from the shipping line, airline or courier; insurance policy |
| Customs taxes | Ad Valorem, ISC, IGV, IPM; anti-dumping if it applies | The law and the tariff; SUNAT assesses them on the DAM |
| IGV perception | 3.5% as the general rate; 10% or 5% in other cases | SUNAT; it is an advance if you have a tax credit |
| Local costs | Customs agent, warehouse, deconsolidation, transport, bank fees | Quote from each service provider |
| Financial and risk costs | Interest on capital, exchange rate, shrinkage | Your financing and your operation |
Result: You knew only one block out of six, and the customs value (US$ 9,995) is already 17.6% above the invoice. With the list built, you know what to quote before committing; the full calculation is done in topic 4-2.
2026
Law 32387 establishes a gradual increase in the IPM (Municipal Promotion Tax) and reduces the IGV in the same proportion. In 2026, 15.5% IGV and 2.5% IPM apply; for 2027 they are set at 15% and 3%. The total rate stays at 18%, and SUNAT publishes this on its guidance portal. What changes is the breakdown you see on the DAM and in your accounting system.
Update the rates in your cost sheet every January, even if the 18% total does not change.
Source: SUNAT – Concepto, tasa y operaciones gravadas del IGV (orientación)
2026
SUNAT explains in its customs guidance that anti-dumping and countervailing duties require a prior INDECOPI resolution. They are calculated on the FOB value of the commercial invoice or as a fixed amount per weight or unit price. SUNAT clarifies that they have the status of a fine and not of a tax. They are added to the normal taxes and can change the cost of a product from a given country a great deal.
Before choosing a supplier, confirm whether your product and its country of origin have duties in force.
2026
Legislative Decree 1714, in force since 2 March 2026, changed the IGV perception on imports. The general rate is 3.5% and the rate for used goods, 5%. The 10% applies, among other cases, if you have no RUC or do not state it in the DAM or DSI, if you make your first import for consumption subject to IGV (all dispatches under the same manifest count), if you failed to file or pay in two of the last twelve periods, or if SUNAT classified you as a taxpayer without operating capacity. There is no perception on samples and gifts of up to US$ 1,000 FOB or on express shipments of up to US$ 2,000. Compared with 3.5%, the 10% takes 6.5 more points out of your cash on the day of clearance.
Before your first import, keep your tax returns up to date and ask your customs agent which rate applies to you: the difference is recovered, but it leaves your cash at clearance.
Practise with the calculators, the COMEX Simulator and the review questions on the main page.
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