Version 4.0 expands the catalogue of high tax risk schemes to include 11 additional arrangements that could be subject to Rule XVI of the Tax Code and other anti-avoidance provisions, with the aim of promoting voluntary tax compliance.
Peru’s National Superintendency of Customs and Tax Administration (SUNAT) has published Version 4.0 of its Catalogue of High Tax Risk Schemes, adding 11 new arrangements that could be used to obtain undue tax benefits and may be challenged under the country’s General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR).
The catalogue forms part of SUNAT’s strategy to improve voluntary tax compliance by identifying arrangements that may involve tax avoidance, simulation, or the improper use of tax benefits. Depending on the circumstances, the schemes may be subject to Rule XVI of the Tax Code, specific anti-avoidance provisions, or the transfer pricing rules under the Income Tax Law.
The latest update builds on the first version of the catalogue, which introduced five schemes considered capable of leading to an incorrect determination of tax or the obtaining of an undue tax advantage under the GAAR framework.
Eleven new schemes added
Version 4.0 introduces the following additional high tax risk schemes:
- Construction of a university campus through a related company lacking economic substance, with lease expense deductions.
- Commercial credit line disguised as loans from a Savings and Credit Cooperative.
- Leveraged Buy Out (LBO) with a reverse merger and the transfer of financing expenses.
- Direct disposal of shares through share premium capitalisation.
- Loan disguised as a contribution to a participation association contract.
- Distribution of dividends through profit capitalisation followed by the sale of bonus shares.
- Transfer of real estate through a demerger scheme and termination of a surface right.
- Transfers of real estate for subsequent disposal to reduce the tax burden.
- Cash loan disguised as a capital contribution to an intermediary company followed by a corporate reorganisation.
- Use of financial leasing for accelerated depreciation and transfer of real estate to shareholders for subsequent leasing.
- Cash loan disguised as a capital contribution pending registration.
According to SUNAT, the catalogue is intended to provide taxpayers, tax advisers, academics, and the wider public with guidance on arrangements considered to present a high tax risk, discouraging their use and encouraging timely compliance with tax obligations.
Cooperative financing arrangement
One of the newly identified arrangements involves a commercial credit programme presented as loans granted by a Savings and Credit Cooperative.
Under the arrangement, a company and its shareholders establish a cooperative under their control and register customers as cooperative members through nominal contributions. Customers finance purchases made at the company’s stores through instalment payments, while the related interest income is reported by the cooperative.
SUNAT said customers generally do not participate in the cooperative’s management or activities, and the cooperative does not perform genuine cooperative functions. The arrangement channels interest income through the cooperative, allowing the company to avoid the 29.5% Income Tax (IR) and the 18% General Sales Tax (IGV) that would normally apply to commercial financing transactions.
Based on SUNAT’s data, around 40 Savings and Credit Cooperatives have been identified with approximately S/31 million in outstanding loans, prompting further scrutiny of these transactions for tax compliance purposes.
University campus structure
Another scheme concerns the construction of a university campus through a related company created to acquire land and develop the property.
Although the related entity formally owned the land and oversaw construction, SUNAT found that the university carried out the key activities, including acquiring the land, coordinating construction, managing financing obligations, and providing personnel for the project. After completion, the related company leased the campus back to the university.
According to SUNAT, the related company lacked the personnel, resources, and operational capacity to carry out the project independently. The arrangement enabled the university to deduct lease payments instead of recognising depreciation on the building, reducing its 29.5% Income Tax (IR) liability.
Information from Local Transfer Pricing Reports indicates that an average of 1,788 taxpayers recorded approximately S/4.5 billion in lease expenses with related parties over the past three fiscal years, underscoring the importance of reviewing such transactions for compliance with tax obligations.
This announcement was made on 30 June 2026.
