What is the max value of things I can bring to Peru?

June 11, 2009 6:18 AM

How many laptops can I legally bring to Peru?

Two of my friends in Peru have asked me to bring them down netbooks (they saw my Acer and want something similar). They asked if I can bring them one to sell at price. I'm not opposed to this (aside from the space they would take up, but they told me that it is for their children... though not sure why their kids need a laptop) but I'm concerned about the legality since, considering I'll bring my own laptop too, that totals three computers in my luggage and I imagine the border authorities may think I'm selling them or something.

Do you know anything about the legality of this? Or how I can best help them? Sending it by mail would require them to pay taxes upon receipt. And considering how far away they live from a city that sells these computer, and the presumable mark-up, this is a good chance for them to get a computer at a good price.

posted by mateuslee to law & government (3 comments total)

According to this page, only one laptop is allowed per traveller. Chile has the same rule, and when my gf brought two netbooks the second one was assumed to be a DVD player and entered without any problem so YMMV. Also, depending of the day, it should be a matter of chance if they actually check your luggage or not.

If you do it, make sure your friends are prepared to pay whatever they charge you (it'll probably cheaper than buying them there anyway) and bring everything you can that can prove the netbooks value as, if Peru is anything like Chile in this kind of stuff, they can apply their own prices if you don't prove how much you paid for them, meaning significantly higher taxes.
posted by Memo at 6:37 AM on June 11

Like Memo said, be prepared to probably pay some taxes when importing items that look like they're for sale. What I've done (when returning home) is taking all the electronics out of the packaging, removing any protective plastic on them (if any), and interspersed them throughout my clothes in the checked luggage -- I claim I packed them through my clothes in order to protect them from the mishandling during the journey.

That way I could claim that no, they're not new, and I use them for work why do you ask? That usually works, but still, be sure to have your receipts handy so then they won't be able to just establish their own outrageous price that they estimate the items cost, for example here electronics pay a 15% import tax, which is what you're trying to avoid. Still, they'll surely be cheaper. Go for it! Plus, they'll probably won't look like a "real laptop", and they might even think that they're toy computers.
posted by papafrita at 7:10 AM on June 11

My friend was in the Peace Corps in Peru a couple years ago. He made a short trip home and brought back a laptop for one of his friends (another volunteer), so he had two with him including his own. They took one away from him at customs in Lima. There was no arguing with the customs people. At the time my friend was staying with an American embassy family. He couldn't recover the computer even after they wrote a letter of reference saying he was in the Peace Corps. (Although, he didn't want to make too big a deal of it after that -- it was just a computer).

I think this was a worst case scenario -- but, just so you know, they can take the computers away.
posted by bluefly at 11:31 AM on June 11