Countries › Peru › Guide › 3. Investing › Foreign investment in Peru: open entry, ProInversión registration, legal stability agreements, early VAT recovery and restricted sectors

Foreign investment in Peru: open entry, ProInversión registration, legal stability agreements, early VAT recovery and restricted sectors

Argentina. For full detail on Argentina, go to The Argentine Thread.

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

Foreign investment in Peru needs no prior approval: the Constitution and Decreto Legislativo 662 give foreigners the same treatment as Peruvians and authorize foreign investment automatically, and registering the capital with ProInversión confirms the right to remit capital and profits abroad in any convertible currency once taxes are paid. Investors committing at least US$5 million (US$10 million in mining and hydrocarbons) within two years can sign a ten year legal stability agreement that freezes the income tax regime, FX and remittance rights and non discrimination, and projects of US$5 million or more with a preproductive stage of two years or more can recover sales tax on their investment before they start selling. A short list of activities, such as property within 50 km of the borders and domestic commercial aviation, remains restricted.

USD figures use S/ 3.446 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 26 October 2026 and shown in the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. Amounts that the law sets in US dollars are quoted as written. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

General prior approval or screening of foreign investment	None; foreign investment is authorized automatically and treated like domestic investment textConstitution art. 63; DL 662 art. 2, art. 3 and art. 29, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Term for ProInversión's resolution registering a foreign investment	25 business daysDL 662 art. 19; ProInversión procedure sheet, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Remittance of registered capital and profits abroad	Free, in freely convertible currency, without prior authorization, after taxes textDL 662 art. 7 and art. 20; DS 162-92-EF art. 15, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum investment for a legal stability agreement, general sectors	5000000 USDLey Nº 27342 art. 2.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum investment for a legal stability agreement, mining and hydrocarbons	10000000 USDLey Nº 27342 art. 2.1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Term of a legal stability agreement (concession linked agreements follow the concession term)	10 yearsDL 662 art. 15; DS 162-92-EF art. 26 e), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum period to make the committed contributions	2 yearsDS 162-92-EF art. 28 a); DL 662 art. 11, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum investment commitment for early IGV recovery, excluding IGV	5000000 USDDL 973 art. 3.2 a) as amended by DL 1423, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum preproductive stage for early IGV recovery	2 yearsDL 973 art. 3.2 b) as amended by DL 1423, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Border strip where foreigners may not hold mines, land, forests, water or energy sources	50 kmConstitution art. 71, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum Peruvian ownership of a domestic commercial airline	51 %Ley Nº 27261 art. 79.2 c), as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. National and foreign investment are subject to the same conditions, and production of goods and services and foreign trade are free. Freedom of contract means parties may agree validly under the rules in force when the contract is signed, and contractual terms cannot be changed by laws or other provisions of any kind. Through contratos ley (contract laws) the State can establish guarantees and grant assurances that cannot be modified by legislation. This is the constitutional basis of the legal stability agreements described below.Constitución Política del Perú de 1993, Art. 62 and art. 63, 1993-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. A foreign investment, once made, must be registered with the competent national body, today ProInversión (Agencia de Promoción de la Inversión Privada); investments formalized by contract with a Peruvian company, including joint ventures (asociaciones en participación) and other risk sharing arrangements, are registered too. Once registered, the investment gives its holder the right to transfer abroad, in freely convertible currency, without prior authorization and after paying taxes, all of its capital (including proceeds from selling shares, reducing capital or liquidating) and all proven dividends or net profits, and the right to use the most favorable exchange rate available. To enjoy these guarantees, money coming from abroad must be channeled through the national financial system. No authority of the central, regional or local government may treat national and foreign investors differently, including by charging foreigners higher taxes, contributions or fees.
Cost to do it: ProInversión's official procedure sheet lists no fee for registering a foreign investment and states that the resolution is sent within 25 business days. Filing is by Form 1 for capital contributions, Form 2 for funds raised by placing securities abroad and Form 3 for share transfers.
Example: A foreign parent that wires S/ 3,446,000 of capital through a Peruvian bank and registers it can later repatriate the same capital on a share sale or liquidation without asking any authority, after paying the tax due. / US$1,000,000 of registered capital (S/ 3,446,000 at S/ 3.446) can be sent back in dollars, with no approval, once taxes are paid.Decreto Legislativo Nº 662 (legal stability regime for foreign investment); Decreto Supremo Nº 162-92-EF (regulation of the private investment guarantee regimes), DL 662 art. 19, art. 20 and art. 29; DS 162-92-EF art. 14 and art. 15, 1991-09-02 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Having filed a preliminary investment form, and before or within twelve months after obtaining the enabling title for the project, the investor may sign an agreement with the State guaranteeing: (a) stability of the income tax regime in force at signing, both for the tax on the company receiving the investment and for the tax on profits or dividends attributed to the investor, so that if the corporate tax rises the investor's rate is reduced enough to keep its freely available profit at least at the guaranteed level; (b) stability of free availability of foreign currency and of the remittance rights; and (c) stability of the right to non discrimination. The receiving company also obtains stability of its labor hiring regimes and of export oriented regimes such as temporary admission and free zones. The State must keep the agreements in force until they end and cannot modify them unilaterally; disputes arising from them may be submitted to arbitral tribunals constituted under treaties to which Peru is a party.
Example: If the corporate rate on the receiving company went up after signing, the stabilized dividend tax on the investor would be cut so that the profit the investor can freely dispose of is not lower than under the agreement.Decreto Legislativo Nº 662, art. 10 as replaced by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1011 (published 11 May 2008), Art. 10, art. 12, art. 14 and art. 16, 2008-05-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Decreto Legislativo Nº 1011 (11 May 2008) replaced the opening of DL 662 art. 10 so that agreements can also be signed within twelve months after the enabling title is obtained, not only before the investment is made.

4. To access legal stability under DL 662 and DL 757, investors must commit to cash contributions, channeled through the national financial system, to the capital of a company already established or to be established, or to make risk investments formalized with third parties, of at least US$10,000,000 in mining and hydrocarbons and at least US$5,000,000 in other sectors. The same amounts apply to companies holding concession contracts. Stability benefits only the holder of the agreement. A contrato ley is the only way stability of the laws applicable to a private party, including tax laws, can be granted; it cannot be granted by administrative or court resolution.
Cost to do it: Minimum commitment US$5,000,000 (about S/ 17,230,000) in general and US$10,000,000 (about S/ 34,460,000) in mining and hydrocarbons, contributed within two years according to ProInversión. Its procedure sheet states a 20 business day term for the resolution and lists no fee. The thresholds replaced the much lower amounts still printed in DL 662 art. 11 (US$2,000,000, or US$500,000 with job or export commitments).
Example: An equity injection of S/ 13,784,000 into a manufacturing company is a lawful investment but falls below the S/ 17,230,000 equivalent of the US$5,000,000 floor, so it cannot be covered by a stability agreement. / US$4,000,000 of equity does not qualify; US$5,000,000 does outside mining and hydrocarbons, and a copper project needs US$10,000,000.Ley Nº 27342 (legal stability agreements under DL 662 and DL 757), Art. 2, art. 3.2 and sole final provision, 2000-09-06 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Legal stability agreements have a term of ten years from signing; in leasing contracts the term cannot exceed that of the lease, up to ten years. They must be signed before the investments are made and registered. The holder may waive the agreement and return to the general law, and assignment of the contractual position needs prior authorization. Amendments cannot change the term or reduce the investment below the minimums. The agreement terminates by operation of law if the committed contributions are not made within the agreed period, which cannot exceed two years, and the holder must then repay, updated as unpaid tax debt, any taxes it saved because of the agreement. According to ProInversión, agreements linked to concessions last as long as the concession.
Example: An agreement signed on 1 March 2027 protects the regime in force that day until 1 March 2037; if the investor contributes only part of the committed S/ 17,230,000 within the agreed period (two years at most), the agreement falls away and any tax saved must be repaid with updates. / Committing US$5,000,000 but contributing US$3,000,000 by the deadline voids the agreement.Decreto Supremo Nº 162-92-EF (Reglamento de los Regímenes de Garantía a la Inversión Privada); Decreto Legislativo Nº 662, DS 162-92-EF art. 26 d), e), f), g) and h) and art. 28; DL 662 art. 15, 1992-10-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Under the Régimen Especial de Recuperación Anticipada del IGV, beneficiaries recover the sales tax (IGV) charged on imports and local purchases of new capital goods, new intermediate goods, services and construction contracts carried out in the preproductive stage and used directly to execute the investment commitment, before the project starts selling. To qualify, the applicant must show ProInversión a project in any sector that generates business income, with an investment commitment of at least US$5,000,000 excluding IGV, counting all stages or phases, and a preproductive stage of two years or more from the start of the investment schedule. A ministerial resolution of the competent sector approves each beneficiary and the goods, services and construction contracts covered.
Cost to do it: Minimum investment US$5,000,000 excluding IGV (about S/ 17,230,000). ProInversión's procedure sheet lists up to 5 business days for admission, 20 for its evaluation, 20 for the sector's ministerial resolution and 5 for publication, about 50 business days in total, and no fee. ProInversión states the minimum amount does not apply to agriculture.
Example: A plant that buys S/ 10,000,000 of qualifying equipment pays S/ 1,800,000 of IGV at 18 percent; under the regime that amount is refunded during construction instead of being offset only once sales begin. / S/ 1,800,000 of IGV recovered early is about US$522,346 of working capital freed during the build phase.Decreto Legislativo Nº 973 (special early IGV recovery regime), as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1423 (published 13 September 2018), DL 973 art. 2.1, art. 3.2 a) and b) and art. 3.3, as worded by DL 1423 art. 3, 2018-09-13 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Decreto Legislativo Nº 1423 (13 September 2018) reworded DL 973: it set the US$5,000,000 floor as the total of all stages excluding IGV, measured the two year preproductive stage from the start of the investment schedule, and moved approval of beneficiaries to a ministerial resolution of the sector for each project.

7. Within fifty kilometers of the borders, foreigners, whether individuals or companies, may not acquire or possess under any title mines, land, forests, water, fuels or energy sources, directly or indirectly, individually or through a company, on pain of losing the right to the State, unless a public necessity is expressly declared by supreme decree approved by the Council of Ministers.
Example: A foreign owned company that wants a mining concession or farmland inside the 50 km border strip needs a supreme decree declaring public necessity before acquiring it.Constitución Política del Perú de 1993, Art. 71, 1993-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-28

8. Domestic commercial aviation is reserved to Peruvian individuals and Peruvian legal entities. A legal entity counts as Peruvian only if it has its principal domicile in Peru, at least half plus one of its directors, managers and persons in charge of its control and direction are Peruvian nationals or permanently domiciled in Peru, and at least 51 percent of its capital is Peruvian owned and under the real and effective control of Peruvian shareholders or partners permanently domiciled in Peru. The law leaves it to the regulation to set how long this ownership limitation lasts.Ley Nº 27261 (Ley de Aeronáutica Civil del Perú), Art. 79.1 and art. 79.2, 2000-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Tool	Legal basis	Who qualifies	Minimum amount	What it gives	Term to decide
Registration of foreign investment	DL 662 art. 19 and 20; DS 162-92-EF art. 14 and 15	Any foreign capital channeled through the Peruvian financial system	None	Confirms free remittance of capital and profits and use of the most favorable exchange rate	25 business days
Legal stability agreement	DL 662 art. 10 to 16; Ley 27342 art. 2; DS 162-92-EF art. 26 and 28	Investors (and receiving companies) committing contributions within two years	US$5,000,000 (about S/ 17,230,000); US$10,000,000 (about S/ 34,460,000) in mining and hydrocarbons	Ten years of stable income tax regime, FX and remittance rights and non discrimination; for the company, stable hiring and export regimes	20 business days
Early IGV recovery	DL 973 art. 2 and 3 as amended by DL 1423	Projects with a preproductive stage of two years or more	US$5,000,000 excluding IGV, all stages (not applied in agriculture according to ProInversión)	Refund of IGV on capital goods, intermediate goods, services and construction before sales start	About 50 business days including the sector resolution and publication

Investor tools under Peru's general regime, with the procedure terms stated on ProInversión's official sheets. USD to soles at S/ 3.446 (26 October 2026), for orientation only.

Qualifying purchases (soles)	IGV paid at 18%	Approx. USD	Without the regime	With the regime
S/ 10,000,000	S/ 1,800,000	US$522,346	Usable only as a credit against IGV on later taxable sales	Refunded during the preproductive stage
S/ 50,000,000	S/ 9,000,000	US$2,611,725	Usable only as a credit against IGV on later taxable sales	Refunded during the preproductive stage

Value of early IGV recovery on qualifying preproductive purchases at the 18 percent IGV plus IPM rate. Illustration only; actual refunds depend on the approved list of goods and services. USD at S/ 3.446.

Worked example

A foreign investor commits US$6,000,000 (about S/ 20,676,000) of equity to a new Peruvian manufacturing S.A.C., wired through a Peruvian bank. It clears the US$5,000,000 floor of Ley 27342 art. 2, so it may sign a ten year legal stability agreement (DS 162-92-EF art. 26 e)) and must complete the contributions within the period agreed, two years at most (art. 28 a)).
The same investor's plant buys S/ 10,000,000 of equipment during a three year build. If the project is approved for early IGV recovery, the S/ 1,800,000 of IGV (about US$522,346) is refunded during construction rather than sitting as a credit until sales start (DL 973 art. 2.1 and 3.2 as amended by DL 1423).
After registering the capital with ProInversión, the parent can later remit the full proceeds of a share sale or liquidation in dollars without prior approval, once taxes are paid (DL 662 art. 20; DS 162-92-EF art. 15).
A foreign group planning a small domestic airline must keep at least 51 percent of the capital in the hands of Peruvian shareholders domiciled in Peru, and a majority of Peruvian or domiciled directors and managers (Ley 27261 art. 79.2).

Step by step

Map the project against the restrictions first: property within 50 km of the borders needs a supreme decree (Constitution art. 71) and domestic commercial aviation requires 51 percent Peruvian ownership (Ley 27261 art. 79). Sector laws covered in the sectors section can add licensing conditions.
Form the vehicle (S.A.C., S.R.L., S.A. or branch) and register it in the Public Registry; see the entities section. If the capital is meant to go into a stability agreement, keep the minute and deed of incorporation ready, because ProInversión asks for them.
If the investment will reach US$5,000,000 (US$10,000,000 in mining or hydrocarbons) and long term certainty on income tax and remittances matters, file Form 5 (investors) or Form 6 (receiving companies) with ProInversión before making the contributions, or within twelve months after obtaining the enabling title. ProInversión states it resolves within 20 business days.
Wire the capital from abroad through a bank in Peru's financial system and book the capitalization entry; ProInversión requires the bank certificate and ledger entry when the registration is to count toward a stability agreement.
Register the foreign investment with ProInversión on Form 1 (capital contributions), Form 2 (securities placed abroad) or Form 3 (share transfers); the resolution is sent within 25 business days.
For projects with a long build phase, apply to ProInversión for early IGV recovery with the project description, monthly investment schedule and lists of capital goods, intermediate goods, services and construction contracts; then wait for the sector's ministerial resolution, about 50 business days in total.
Diarize the contribution deadline in the stability agreement (two years at most) and keep the evidence of each wire and capital increase; missing it terminates the agreement and triggers repayment of the tax saved (DS 162-92-EF art. 28).

Common traps

Stability must be applied for in time: the agreement has to be signed before the investment is made and registered, or within twelve months after obtaining the enabling title (DL 662 art. 10 as replaced by DL 1011; DS 162-92-EF art. 26 d)). Capital already injected and registered cannot be stabilized afterwards.
DL 662 art. 11 still prints thresholds of US$2,000,000 and US$500,000; they were superseded by Ley 27342 art. 2, which requires US$5,000,000 or US$10,000,000. Do not plan around the old figures.
Contributions must be cash channeled through the national financial system; money paid to the parent's account abroad, or contributions in kind, do not count toward the threshold (Ley 27342 art. 2.1).
Stability protects only the holder of the agreement (Ley 27342 art. 3.2). A buyer of the shares does not inherit it, and assigning the contractual position requires ProInversión's prior authorization (DS 162-92-EF art. 26 g)).
Failing to complete the committed contributions in time terminates the agreement by operation of law, and the investor must repay, with updates, the tax it saved under it (DS 162-92-EF art. 28).
The cost of income tax stability in Ley 27342 art. 1 was amended again by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1516, which the official gazette lists as standardizing the cost of access to tax stability under DL 662 and DL 757. Its text could not be retrieved from an official source in this session, so confirm the current stabilized rate with ProInversión before signing.
Early IGV recovery requires the project to be approved by a ministerial resolution that lists the covered goods, services and construction contracts (DL 973 art. 3.3 as amended by DL 1423). Purchases outside the approved lists are not refunded early.
Border strip ownership by a foreign owned Peruvian company is also caught: the ban covers holdings directly or indirectly, individually or through a company (Constitution art. 71).
For Argentine investors: no double taxation convention between Argentina and Peru appears in Argentina's official list of conventions in force, so withholding on Peruvian dividends, interest and royalties is not reduced by a bilateral tax treaty. See the Argentine guide for the Argentine side.

Sources

← Peru macro at a glance: the rules behind the central bank, inflation, the fiscal rule and the sol