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Insolvent exit: INDECOPI insolvency proceedings and creditor driven liquidation

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

A company that cannot pay its debts leaves through the INDECOPI insolvency system, not the Companies Law: the debtor or creditors owed more than 50 UIT start an ordinary insolvency procedure. The creditors' meeting decides between restructuring and dissolution and liquidation, and a registered liquidator pays claims in a strict order: workers, child support, secured creditors, taxes, then everyone else. Once the procedure is published, any Companies Law liquidation is suspended, and shareholders only receive what is left after all recognised claims.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. UIT amounts use the 2026 UIT of S/ 5,500 set by Decreto Supremo Nº 301-2025-EF, as listed in the SUNAT UIT table. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum overdue claims for a creditor petition	50 UITLey 27809 art. 26.1 (DL 1050), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Creditor petition threshold in 2026 soles	275000 PENLey 27809 art. 26.1; DS 301-2025-EF, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Days overdue before a creditor can petition	30 daysLey 27809 art. 26.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Debtor petition test	More than one third of obligations overdue over 30 days, or losses above one third of paid in capital textLey 27809 art. 24.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
First ranking claims in liquidation	Workers pay, benefits and pension contributions textLey 27809 art. 42.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum term of a going concern liquidation	1 year, extendable once textLey 27809 art. 74.2 (DL 1189), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
INDECOPI fee, creditor petition	868.70 PENINDECOPI TUPA, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
INDECOPI fee, debtor petition	406.70 PENINDECOPI TUPA, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. A debtor can request an ordinary insolvency procedure if more than one third of its obligations are overdue and unpaid for more than 30 calendar days, or if its accumulated losses, net of reserves, exceed one third of paid in capital. It can ask for restructuring only if accumulated losses do not exceed total paid in capital, with an accountant signed report and a two year cash flow projection; otherwise it can only ask for dissolution and liquidation, declared together with the insolvency.Ley Nº 27809, Ley General del Sistema Concursal (2002, original text as published by INDECOPI), Art. 24.1 and 24.2, 2002-08-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. One or more creditors whose claims are due and unpaid for more than 30 calendar days and together exceed 50 UIT can request the debtor's ordinary insolvency procedure. Claims secured with the debtor's or third parties' assets cannot found the request unless enforcement failed.
Example: 50 UIT in 2026 = S/ 275,000. / About US$79,664.Ley Nº 27809 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1050 (dated 26 June 2008), Art. 26.1 and 26.2, 2008-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Once the insolvency procedure is published and while it continues, any dissolution and liquidation under the Companies Law is suspended and the debtor and its representatives become subject to the insolvency law.Ley Nº 27809 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1189 (El Peruano, 21 August 2015), Art. 26.3, 2015-08-21 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: DL 1189 (2015) replaced the earlier bar on starting insolvency for debtors already in Companies Law liquidation with this suspension rule.

4. In dissolution and liquidation, claims are paid in this order: first, workers' pay and social benefits and unpaid pension contributions (private system and ONP) with interest and costs; second, child support claims; third, claims secured by mortgage, movable guarantee, antichresis, warrants, retention rights or attachments created and registered before the insolvency publication, up to the value realised from the collateral; fourth, the State's tax claims including EsSalud, fines and interest; fifth, all other claims and the unsecured excess of secured claims.Ley Nº 27809 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1050 (dated 26 June 2008), Art. 42.1, 2008-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. The dissolution and liquidation agreement draws all claims into the procedure, including those arising after the insolvency date, so that every obligation is recognised and paid within it, except debts from a going concern liquidation, which are paid when due.Ley Nº 27809 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1050 (dated 26 June 2008), Art. 74.6 to 74.8, 2008-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. If the creditors' meeting decides to liquidate, the debtor must stop its ordinary business from the signing of the liquidation agreement; directors, managers or administrators who keep trading can be fined 1 to 100 UIT. The meeting may instead choose a going concern liquidation, which must end within one year, extendable once for the same period by a reasoned meeting decision.
Example: Fine range in 2026: S/ 5,500 to S/ 550,000. / US$1,593 to US$159,328.Ley Nº 27809 as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1189 (El Peruano, 21 August 2015), Art. 74.1 and 74.2, 2015-08-21 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. The meeting appoints a liquidator registered with INDECOPI and signs the liquidation agreement in the same meeting or within 30 days. Assets sold by auction follow the Civil Procedure Code; after three failed auctions they can be sold directly. If all recognised claims are paid, INDECOPI declares the procedure concluded and the liquidator pays any booked but unrecognised claims in the legal order.Ley Nº 27809, Ley General del Sistema Concursal (2002, original text as published by INDECOPI); DL 1189 for art. 84.2 and 88.8, Art. 74.3, 74.4, 84.2 and 88.8, 2015-08-21 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. A creditor filing costs S/ 868.70 and a debtor filing S/ 406.70 at INDECOPI, each with a 90 business day term and negative administrative silence.
Cost to do it: Creditor request S/ 868.70 (US$252); debtor request S/ 406.70 (US$118); plus liquidator fees paid from the estate.INDECOPI consolidated TUPA (Resolución Nº 000047-2026-PRE/INDECOPI, base Decreto Supremo Nº 088-2025-PCM), Procedures 'Procedimiento Concursal Ordinario a Solicitud de Acreedores' and 'a Solicitud del Deudor', 2026-05-13 official text · verified 2026-10-28

9. Dissolution, liquidation and bankruptcy are objective causes for collective termination of employment. Workers have first option to buy the assets and facilities of the company in liquidation or bankruptcy to continue or replace their source of work, and can apply their unpaid pay and benefits to the price.Texto Único Ordenado del Decreto Legislativo Nº 728 (Decreto Supremo Nº 003-97-TR, 27 March 1997), Ministry of Labour compendium, Art. 46 c) and 49, 1997-03-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Rank	Claims
1	Workers: pay, social benefits, unpaid private pension and ONP contributions, with interest and costs
2	Child support claims
3	Secured claims registered before the insolvency publication, up to collateral value
4	Tax claims of the State, including EsSalud, fines and interest
5	All other claims, plus the unsecured excess of secured claims

Order of payment in insolvent liquidation (Ley 27809 art. 42.1, DL 1050)

Worked example

Worked example: a supplier owed S/ 300,000 (US$86,906), overdue 45 days, can petition alone because the debt exceeds 50 UIT (S/ 275,000). Filing fee S/ 868.70.
Waterfall: liquidation proceeds S/ 10,000,000 (US$2,896,871). Rank 1 workers S/ 1,500,000 paid in full, leaving S/ 8,500,000. Rank 3 bank mortgage of S/ 6,000,000 over a building sold for S/ 5,000,000: the bank takes S/ 5,000,000, leaving S/ 3,500,000, and its S/ 1,000,000 shortfall drops to rank 5. Rank 4 taxes S/ 2,000,000 paid in full, leaving S/ 1,500,000. Rank 5: bank shortfall S/ 1,000,000 plus trade creditors S/ 4,000,000 share S/ 1,500,000 pro rata, 30 percent each (S/ 300,000 and S/ 1,200,000). Shareholders receive nothing. The example ignores liquidator fees and procedure costs.

Step by step

Test early: compare overdue obligations and accumulated losses with the art. 24 thresholds and the LGS one third equity dissolution trigger.
Decide between a solvent Companies Law liquidation and an INDECOPI procedure; if assets will not cover debts, the liquidators must use the insolvency route (LGS art. 417).
File the debtor or creditor petition with INDECOPI and the fee; INDECOPI publishes the procedure, which suspends enforcement and any Companies Law liquidation.
Creditors file claims for recognition; the creditors' meeting is installed and votes restructuring or liquidation.
If liquidation: appoint a registered liquidator, sign the liquidation agreement within 30 days, stop ordinary trading unless a going concern liquidation is approved.
Liquidator sells assets, pays claims in the art. 42 order and, when assets run out, seeks the judicial declaration of bankruptcy and extinction.

Common traps

Directors who keep trading after the liquidation agreement face fines of 1 to 100 UIT and civil and criminal liability.
Security interests rank third only if created and registered before the insolvency publication date.
Tax claims rank behind secured creditors, but managers can still be personally liable for unpaid taxes under the Tax Code (see director, liquidator and shareholder liability).

Sources

← Dissolution and liquidation of a solvent Peruvian companyMergers, spin offs and reorganizations: exiting or restructuring without liquidating →

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