During 2021, the Ecommerce grew 55% compared to the previous year, moving around US $9,300 million in the country. However, online sales only represent 4.5% of commerce in general, while in countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), it exceeds 9%.
For this reason, the Peruvian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CAPECE) has been carrying out various initiatives to decentralize electronic commerce to the province and attract more MYPES to formalization. Among one of the initiatives carried out by the Public and Regulatory Affairs Committee of the union, is the presentation of the “Law of economic reactivation and inclusion through electronic commerce”.
This initiative has been well received by parties such as Fuerza Popular, who have shown their interest in promoting the growth of MSMEs through electronic commerce, and consists of the VAT exemption for three days a year. It should be noted that this measure has already been implemented in the neighboring country of Colombia since 2020 with resounding success, and helped revive the economy of small businesses after the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, shooting up 600%. total transactions versus an average day of sale. On those dates, the cost of 19% of the Value Added Tax (VAT) was eliminated only for formal companies.
“In Argentina and Chile this initiative is being worked on. Peru cannot be left behind, since with this measure we will also implement a digital purchasing culture in the country. However, it seems that there is a national policy of discrimination against businesses that are developed in digital environments, due to the bills that have been in the making this year, when what should be promoted, instead of regulating and sanctioning”, he pointed out. Helmut Cáceda, executive president of the Peruvian Chamber of Electronic Commerce, who stressed that formalization and digitalization are two pending tasks in which the government has not been able to be efficient.
In this sense, the executive of the aforementioned union explains the eight reasons why Peru needs a “Day without VAT” to promote electronic commerce.
- Promotes formalization: Informality is one of the greatest challenges of the country’s economy. With the impact of Covid19 it increased to 85%. The Day without VAT rewards the formality of companies, which is why electronic commerce is a good instrument to reduce informality.
- Reactivation of the economy: It will reactivate the consumption and sales of many SMEs in sectors that have yet to recover.
- Decentralization of Ecommerce to the provinces: Although the businesses that sell on the Internet in the provinces have reached the same number as in the capital, the volume of transactions in the provinces is still 20%. For this reason, a Day without VAT will help not only more users to buy for the first time in provinces through the digital channel, but it will also make more companies join e-commerce.
- Reactivation of tourism: This is one of the main industries that contribute to the economy in the provinces, however, it was the hardest hit during the health crisis, and although it has been recovering slowly, it needs to be accelerated.
- Employment generation: Consumption increases during this day and therefore employment throughout the value chain.
- Financial inclusion: Allows users to bank and choose to use digital payment methods to take advantage of offers.
- Digital competitiveness: An event of this nature could help us take the leap and catch up with Colombia or Chile
- Example of good practices in Digital Government: This measure can position Peru at the regional level as an example of support for innovation and digital transformation.
