Credicorp Challenges $1.5B Tax Claim to Defend Legal Certainty in Peru
Today, I want to talk about a major legal and financial development involving one of Peru’s most prominent financial institutions — Credicorp Ltd. If you’re not familiar, Credicorp is a holding company listed on the NYSE under the ticker BAP, and it controls several key financial entities across Latin America, including Banco de Crédito del Perú and Grupo Crédito S.A.
Credicorp has just launched a legal battle against SUNAT, which is Peru’s tax authority. This dispute revolves around a hefty claim: SUNAT is seeking over 1.5 billion soles — that’s around $400 million USD — in alleged unpaid income taxes and interest. The controversy is tied to share transactions that occurred back in 2018 and 2019, when Grupo Crédito S.A. purchased shares of Banco de Crédito del Perú from Credicorp on the Lima Stock Exchange.
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Here’s where it gets interesting — and legally complicated. These transactions had been previously reviewed and cleared by SUNAT’s own Review Committee. Not only that, but under the Peruvian tax law in place at the time, the transactions were considered tax-exempt. This exemption applied to stock transfers that didn’t exceed 10% of total outstanding shares within a 12-month period. The transactions were conducted transparently and approved by all necessary regulators: the securities regulator (SMV), the banking regulator (SBS), and CAVALI, the local clearing house.
Yet despite all that, SUNAT has reopened the case and is now demanding payment. Credicorp is pushing back strongly, arguing that this not only violates legal predictability, but also disregards a binding ruling made by SUNAT’s own internal committee. They assert that this sets a dangerous precedent, undermining the rule of law and regulatory consistency in Peru.
From an accounting perspective, Credicorp is standing firm. The company stated that no expense provisions are required under International Accounting Standards, which indicates they’re confident in their legal position and see this as an unjustified claim. They’re taking the matter through all available legal and administrative avenues to protect their rights.
This isn’t just a story about taxes or financial statements — it speaks to the broader challenges companies may face operating in jurisdictions where regulatory decisions can be reversed without clear legal cause. For investors and international stakeholders, this raises concerns about the reliability of Peru’s legal and business environment. If a transaction that was once validated by all necessary parties can be retroactively challenged, it threatens the legal security on which businesses and economies depend.
As this unfolds, the outcome of Credicorp’s legal pushback will be closely watched, not just for the company’s financial health, but for what it signals about governance and legal standards in emerging markets like Peru. For now, Credicorp is taking a firm stance — not just for itself, but arguably for the broader principle of legal certainty in business.
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