The landed cost in your warehouse is the floor of your price. On top of it you add the costs of selling, the IGV and the margin you need, and you compare it with the market and with your break-even point.
Goal: Calculate the selling value and the price with IGV for a target margin, and find the break-even point from the contribution margin.
The landed cost from topic 4-2 is the floor of your price. The margin is the part of the selling price left after subtracting the cost. The markup is what you add on top of the cost. They look alike, but they are not the same: margin = (price − cost) ÷ price, and markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost. A markup of 30% gives a margin of 23.1%. A margin of 30% requires a markup of 42.9%. Confusing them is an expensive mistake.
To reach a target margin use price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). The result is the selling value, without IGV. The retail price carries IGV: selling value × 1.18 (the total rate of 18% in 2026 and in 2027). That IGV is not your income, because you declare it to SUNAT and offset it with the IGV on your purchases. That is why you should always calculate the margin on the selling value, never on the price with IGV.
Before setting the price, subtract what it costs to sell each unit: platform or payment gateway commission, advertising, packaging, delivery, discounts, returns and financing if you give credit. What is left is the contribution margin: what each unit contributes to cover your fixed costs (rent, salaries, utilities) and leave a profit. With it you calculate the break-even point: fixed costs ÷ contribution margin per unit, which is the minimum you must sell in order not to lose.
Compare your price with the competition you analyzed in topic 1-1. If the margin you need puts you above the market, you have three ways out: lower costs (another origin, another freight or more volume, as in topic 4-3), sell through another channel, or not import that product. For wholesalers, build a separate list, with a lower margin and higher volume, and define a minimum price below which you do not sell. Remember that margin is not profit: fixed costs and Income Tax are still missing, and they are covered in the course “Finance, Costs and Payment Methods”.
Also look at turnover. A high margin with slow sales can yield less than a medium margin with fast turnover, because your money stays tied up in inventory. And review your prices every time the exchange rate, the freight or the tariff of your next purchase changes.
| Margin on price | Markup on cost | Selling value if the cost is S/ 100 |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | 25.0% | S/ 125.00 |
| 25% | 33.3% | S/ 133.33 |
| 30% | 42.9% | S/ 142.86 |
| 35% | 53.8% | S/ 153.85 |
| 40% | 66.7% | S/ 166.67 |
| 50% | 100.0% | S/ 200.00 |
Result: At S/ 56.90 (S/ 48.22 without IGV) the company earns S/ 9.89 per kettle and breaks even at 607 units a month. If it had to drop to S/ 49.90, it would need to sell more than double: at that point it makes sense to lower the landed cost or look for another channel.
02/09/2010
Law 29571, the Consumer Protection and Defense Code, was published on 02/09/2010. Its article 4, paragraph 4.1, on the completeness of the price, establishes that the price advertised must include the applicable taxes, commissions and charges. For anyone selling to the final consumer, this means the price on the label or the online listing must be the total.
Set your list price with the IGV and charges included, and calculate your margin on the selling value without IGV.
Source: Ley 29571 – Código de Protección y Defensa del Consumidor (texto publicado por el SAT, sat.gob.pe)
2026
On its portal for entrepreneurs, SUNAT explains that the IGV payable is calculated by subtracting the IGV on purchases from the IGV on sales. Its example: sales of 1,000 at 18% are 180 of IGV; purchases of 600 at 18% are 108; 72 is paid. If the tax credit exceeds the tax on sales, the excess is a balance in your favor and is applied in the following months. For 2026, the 18% is made up of 15.5% IGV and 2.5% IPM.
Of the price with IGV that you collect, you keep only the selling value, and the IGV you paid on import reduces what you owe each month.
Practise with the calculators, the COMEX Simulator and the review questions on the main page.
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