According to Report No. 093-2021, SUNAT (Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria – National Superintendence of Customs and Tax Administration) declares on the IGV (Impuesto General a las Ventas – General Sales Tax/VAT) refund recorded in the payment vouchers under the RERA (Régimen Especial de Recuperación Anticipada – Special Regime of Anticipated Recovery).
1. Consultation
Within the framework of the RERA of the IGV, it is asked whether the refund of the IGV recorded in payment vouchers corresponding to the acquisition of goods, services, and construction contracts destined simultaneously to different stages of the project in the proportion that corresponds to those still in the pre-production stage, even when the first one has started operations, is applicable.
2. Analysis
What does the RERA consist of?
The RERA consists of the IGV Refund that taxed the imports and/or local acquisitions of new capital goods, new intermediate goods, services, and construction contracts made in the pre-productive stage to be used by the beneficiaries of the Regime directly in the execution of the investment commitment of the project and destined to perform operations taxed with the IGV or to exports.
What is the production stage for RERA?
The period comprised by this stage can be understood as follows:
- If we are involved in projects in which there is a contract or agreement with the State or authorization has been granted based on sectorial norms.
- In these cases, the production stage covers from the subscription date of the contract, agreement, or grant of authorization until the date prior to the start of production operations.
- If we are involved in specific projects other than those mentioned above.
- On the other hand, from the beginning date of the investment schedule until the date prior to the start of productive operations.
It is important to mention that the exploitation of the project, if it happens, will mean the beginning of productive operations.
Accounting record of the operations
Regarding the accounting record of operations, individuals or legal entities having more than one project or executing the investment in stages, tranches, or similar, must account for their operations in separate accounts for each project, stage, tranche, or similar, if applicable, under the provisions of the regulations for purposes of the Regime.
Likewise, the operations that give right to the Regime must be accounted separately between those that will be used exclusively for taxed and export operations, those that will be used exclusively for non-taxed operations, as well as those that will be used jointly in taxed and non-taxed operations, specifying that the beneficiaries that carry out the investment in the project in stages, tranches or similar, for purposes of the Regime will account for their operations in separate accounts for each stage, tranche or similar.
Pronouncement of the Ministry of Economy and Finance
In this regard, the MEF (Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas – Ministry of Economy and Finance), through Report No. 0033-2021-EF/61.03 has concluded that “for purposes of the RERA of the IGV regulated by Legislative Decree No. 973:
- Acquisitions of goods, services, and construction contracts destined simultaneously to different pre-productive stages of a project are eligible for an IGV refund.
- The identification of acquisitions of goods, services, and construction contracts of each pre-productive stage for projects developed in stages, sections, or similar, is verified in the accounting records, having SUNAT the possibility of establishing additional controls to facilitate such identification”.
Under the above, for purposes of the RERA of the IGV, in principle, the IGV refund proceeds concerning the acquisition of goods, services, and construction contracts that are destined simultaneously to different pre-productive stages of a project in the proportion that corresponds to each stage and, as for the identification of the mentioned acquisitions of each pre-productive stage in the case of projects that are developed in stages, sections and similar, this will be verified in the accounting records, having SUNAT the possibility of establishing additional controls to facilitate such identification.
3. Conclusion
Therefore, SUNAT states concerning the consultation, “the IGV refund consigned in payment vouchers corresponding to the acquisition of goods, services, and construction contracts simultaneously destined to different stages of the project in the proportion that corresponds to those still in the pre-production stage, even when the first stage has started operations, is applicable.”
Source: SUNAT 17/11/21