Peru: invoices are electronic payment vouchers, and the buyer needs a RUC
In Peru, per the sources read, an invoice is a comprobante de pago electrónico (CPE) regulated by the tax authority, SUNAT, issued through one of its electronic issuing systems. The invoice is issued to a buyer with a RUC, apart from exports to non-residents. Below: how it works as SUNAT presentations and vendor guides report it, where the sources are thin, and a local check of a RUC’s check digit.
How it works (as vendor guides and the authority report it)
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Choose a route | SUNAT lists several issuing systems: SEE-SOL, issuing from SUNAT’s portal (free, per SUNAT, with a SOL user and password, and a RUC with status “Habido y Activo” per a SUNAT presentation), SEE from your own system, and SEE through a service operator (OSE). |
| Issue | The invoice (factura) supports the issuer’s costs and expenses for income tax and the buyer’s IGV input credit, per SUNAT. Vendor guides describe the file as signed XML in the UBL 2.1 standard; that comes from secondary sources, so confirm it with SUNAT. |
| Buyer | A factura goes only to a buyer with a RUC, except exports to non-residents, per SUNAT. |
| Exceptions | A SUNAT presentation lists cases where paper issuing is still allowed, such as taxpayers in the RUS regime and new RUC registrations during their first three months. |
Where it is unsettled: the legal base (one vendor site cites Superintendent Resolution 300-2014/SUNAT and its amendments; I did not read it), the date from which every taxpayer had to issue electronically (one vendor says 2022, with micro, small and medium businesses), and the exact scope of the exceptions today. These are SUNAT pages and presentations and vendor guides read through search excerpts, not the resolutions. No penalty is stated because none was read. A summary, not tax advice.
Check a RUC
Tests the shape (11 digits; spaces, dots and hyphens are ignored), the check digit and the prefix (10, 15, 17 or 20). It does not look anything up, so it cannot say whether the RUC is registered, active (“Habido y Activo”) or belongs to the name on the invoice.
The sample is SUNAT’s own RUC. The rule (the first ten digits weighted 5,4,3,2,7,6,5,4,3,2; 11 minus the remainder mod 11, taken mod 10) reproduces it; it was not read from SUNAT’s specification.
What this checker does and does not cover
The main checker reads UBL, CII and Factur-X and applies EN 16931 and Peppol rules. It does not read SUNAT’s UBL profile, cannot verify a signature or a CDR (the receipt SUNAT or an OSE returns), and has no SUNAT catalogues. Treat the RUC test here as a typo catch only.
Test a file before you send it
For a European or Peppol invoice, open the checker, drop your XML and read the findings, each with a rule ID and a fix (the rule reference). No account, nothing uploaded. No invoice yet? The e-invoice creator turns a form into UBL or CII XML and checks it. Other countries: all side by side Mexico Brazil Chile Colombia Argentina.
Common questions
What is a CPE in Peru?
A CPE (comprobante de pago electrónico) is an electronic payment voucher, such as a factura, regulated by the tax authority, SUNAT, and issued with one of its authorised systems: SEE-SOL, a company system, or a service operator (OSE). This is a summary from SUNAT pages and vendor guides, not advice; confirm with SUNAT or your accountant.
Can I issue an invoice for free?
SUNAT says issuing from its SEE-SOL portal is free. It needs a SOL user and password and, per a SUNAT presentation, a RUC with status “Habido y Activo”. Other routes (your own system, an OSE) are priced by whoever supplies them.
Who is the buyer on a factura?
A buyer with a RUC, per SUNAT, apart from exports to non-residents. A sale to a consumer without a RUC uses a different voucher; I did not read the rules for that.
Can this checker validate a Peruvian CPE?
No. It does not read SUNAT’s UBL profile, and cannot verify a signature or a SUNAT receipt. It does test a RUC’s shape and check digit on this page, and a clean result is not an acceptance by SUNAT.
Open the E-invoice Preflight checker to validate your own invoice file.
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