PERU Trends and Developments Contributed by: German Carrera, Juliana Llosa, Yesica del Carpio and Moritz Abramovitz, CPB Abogados
3. Increased transparency obligations: beneficial ownership, tax information exchange, and OECD standards In recent years, Peru’s objective of modernising its tax system to align with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standards has led to a significant increase in transparency and compliance obligations. In this context, Peru has developed a co-ordinated tax transparency frame - work that has a direct impact on both wealth and business planning. This shift reflects the gradual adoption of international standards aimed at enhancing cooperation among tax authorities, increasing transparency regarding the ownership and control of legal entities, and curb tax erosion and profit shifting. This process is built upon three pillars: beneficial ownership identification, the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) framework, and the implementation of specific measures derived from the BEPS Actions. Beneficial ownership Legislative Decree No. 1372, published on August 2, 2018, together with its implementing regulations, require all legal entities and legal arrangements incor - porated or domiciled in Peru, as well as non-resident entities with a local presence, to identify and report their beneficial owner(s) to the Peruvian Tax Admin - istration (SUNAT). The scope of covered entities is broad and includes, among others, trusts, mutual funds, investment funds, and foreign trusts with an administrator or protector domiciled in Peru. Under Peruvian law, a beneficial owner is defined as the natural person who, in the final instance, exercises ownership or effective control. Specifically, the identi - fication follows three criteria in hierarchical order: • Ownership – any natural person who directly or indirectly holds at least 10% of the equity interest of the entity. • Effective Control – the person who exercises control through means other than ownership (eg, the power to appoint or remove the majority of the administrative bodies). • Administrative Position – in the absence of a per - son fulfilling the above criteria, the natural person
in the highest administrative position (eg, the gen - eral manager or the board of directors) is deemed the beneficial owner for reporting purposes. Non-compliance not only gives rise to violations and penalties for the entity itself, but failure to disclose the beneficial owner also constitutes grounds for joint and several liability of the legal representative. In addition, notaries verify compliance before authorising legal acts. Since its implementation in Peru, the filing of ben - eficial ownership declarations has been rolled out progressively. Initially, large corporations and major taxpayers domiciled in Peru were required to disclose the identity of the natural persons who own or control their businesses. Subsequently, the obligation was gradually extended to smaller companies based on their net income and legal arrangements domiciled in Peru, with final filing tranches extending into Novem - ber 2026. Automatic exchange of information The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is one of the principal international tax transparency standards pro - moted by the OECD to strengthen compliance by tax - payers holding financial assets abroad. Peru adopted the CRS, with operational exchanges beginning in 2020. Supreme Decree No. 256-2018-EF, updated in July 2024 by Supreme Decree No. 139-2024-EF, requires custodial and depository institutions, invest - ment entities and specified insurance companies to annually report to SUNAT information regarding accounts whose holders or controlling persons are tax residents of jurisdictions with which Peru maintains an active automatic exchange of information agreement. SUNAT subsequently transmits this information to the corresponding foreign tax authorities and reciprocally receives information from them. At the domestic level, since 2021, financial institutions have been required to report to SUNAT on a semian - nual basis customer accounts with balances equal to or greater than seven tax units (UITs), with one UIT equivalent to PEN5,500 in 2026. SUNAT may cross- reference this information with income tax returns filed by taxpayers.
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