By an OGJ Online Correspondent
LIMA, Feb. 13�Peru approved early reimbursement of the 18% general sales tax on the import and/or local purchase of new capital goods and intermediate goods and services for the operators of the Camisea contracts signed late last year (OGJ Online, Dec. 11, 2000).
In other cases, companies only recover the tax after they begin sales when the tax is transferred to the customer.
The two major Camisea contracts are the natural gas exploitation contract and transport and distribution contract.
Related services and construction contracts are also eligible for reimbursement, provided they are linked directly to the project�s essential activities.
The Camisea consortium for the development of the gas fields includes Argentina�s Pluspetrol, US firm Hunt Oil Co., and South Korea�s SK Corp. The transport and distribution consortium�Transportadores de Gas�is led by Argentine�s Tecgas, a unit of Techint SA, and includes Pluspetrol, Hunt and SK Corp. as well as Algerian firm Sonatrach and Peru�s Gra�a y Montero SA.
The early return of the sales tax is applied in accordance with hydrocarbons legislation for projects with a 2-4 year investment period.
The companies in the Camisea consortia are committed to completing their contracts within 44 months from the signing of the contract.
The government has also approved payment of import duties on new capital and intermediate goods in 13 half-yearly installments, guaranteed by promissory notes.
The Camisea companies are in the preliminary stage of selecting the companies that will undertake environmental impact studies. Those studies are expected to be completed by the end of the year; they must be approved before work begins.
