Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- In its final ruling, Peru's Supreme Court established that it was unconstitutional to charge a 29-sol service fee to Peruvians that wished to acquire a passport.

The price to attain a Peruvian passport will now be $15, announced Peru's Consumer Association (ASPEC).

The head of ASPEC, Jaime Delgado, announced that the Supreme Court had ruled that Supreme Decree 008-2002-IN, which established a 29-sol service fee to obtain a Peruvian passport, was unconstitutional and eliminated the fee.

This means that starting now, the price of a passport will decrease by 40 percent, thus benefiting the thousands of Peruvian citizens that request a passport daily, affirmed Delgado.

Furthermore, he explained that in the past it was necessary to pay three fees to obtain a passport - a service fee (29 soles), a processing fee ($15) and a tax that was to help needy children ($40). Congress eliminated the $40 tax, which was paid for six years, in 2006.

Delgado explained that service fees were now being eliminated and that passports would cost $15. "It didn't make sense to have two fees for the same paperwork", said Delgado.

He stated that ASPEC would get together in front of the Immigration office in Breña on Friday (January 18) to celebrate its victory.