Congress approved a reduction in VAT from 18% to 8% for tourists and restaurants until 2024.

Full Congress approved with 90 votes in favour, 14 against and 9 abstentions a bill proposing to reduce the payment of the General sales tax from 18% to 8% (VAT) temporarily micro and small enterprises (mips) categories of restaurants, hotels, tourist accommodation, catering services and concessionaires, among others.

The head of the Economics, Banking, Finance and Financial Intelligence Commission, Silvia Montesa Facho (AP), supported the new replacement text of the opinion published in bills 714/2021 and 2148/2021.

The parliament indicated that the aim of the initiative is to support the economic reactivation of this business segment of the economy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and “make survival viable and avoid the closure of this activity.”

Montesa Facho said that the reduction VAT in the amount of 8% will be valid from the moment of the official publication of the standard until December 31, 2024.

“The main activity for the purposes of this law includes the entities specified in the previous paragraph, whose income from the sale or provision of services from the specified activity is at least 70% of their income,” the legal text says.

IEF rejects project

A few days ago, the Department of Economics and Treasury (MEF) reiterated its rejection of bills submitted by Congress to temporarily reduce IGV from 18% to 8% and automatically offset the balance of the IGV tax credit. accumulated for restaurants, hotels and tourist accommodation.

In its official Twitter account, the ministry clarified that it had given an unfavorable review of these projects, as it believed that the reduced rate VAT it distorts and makes it difficult to apply, complicates the tax system (giving rise to three additional regimes), and encourages business dwarfism and informality.

“Most companies that are restaurants and hotels are not taxpayers VAT. According to statistics from the National Administration of Customs and Tax Administration (Sunat), there were 114,000 taxpayers in these areas in 2021, but more than 50% were registered with the RUS, a regime that is not affected and does not pay VAT”, referred to FEM.

“More than 100,000 restaurants have gone bankrupt since the start of the pandemic”

Jose Luis Silva Martinotthe president Union of Restaurant Guilds of Perulisted today in PTR that since the start of the pandemic in 2020, more than 100,000 restaurants across the country have been forced to close due to bankruptcy, causing more than a million industry workers to lose their jobs.

“The position of restaurants remains very delicate, especially since there are restaurants that have to start paying off the Reactiva Peru loan. Let’s remember that 98% of restaurants in Peru are micro or small businesses.”, held.