The trend toward e-invoicing in emerging markets has the potential to increase the demand for financial services such as factoring and invoice discounting.
According to a tax advisory on the Deloitte web site, Peru is the 6th country in Latin America to implement electronic invoicing for payment and billing. As in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, e-invoicing will replace paper processes to improve efficiency, security, and reduce errors in hand-entry of accounting data as well as environmental benefits. Authorized e-invoicing systems connect to Peru’s tax authority (SUNAT) databases to submit information electronically in addition to streamlining the process between buyers and sellers.
Deloitte also notes that a law passed in March 2015 will promote funding Peruvian companies through factoring and invoice discounting. Law No. 30308 establishes guidelines for issuing electronic invoices that qualify as “negotiable securities” that can be traded on the Peruvian securities market.
AGC has partnered with a factor in Peru that is an authorized electronic issuer, meaning that they provide a platform to large, medium, and small businesses to provide e-invoicing and submit the information to SUNAT. They are also certified as a factor, offering platforms for both e-invoicing and supply chain financing.
In 2013, the government identified 239 Peru-based companies and required them to establish e-invoicing systems. The mandate is to gradually obligate companies to issue electronic invoices from 2015 to 2018. By December 31 2015, the first 6,000 companies are obligated, including 4,959 small companies. For 2016, there is a list of 12,300 companies that will be obligated, and by the end of 2018 paper invoices will no longer exist.
