00:08 Dec 12, 2009 

Hi Gilberto, I pay the RUC every month here in Paraguay, so I know very well what it means. However, the way it is translated into English, officially, -by the government of the country in question- can vary, so, the information one person gets from Peru may conflict with what another gets from Spain or Paraguay -each of them has a RUC, but those who translated RUC into English for the respective governments did not all use the same English. So, if you tell an American who wants to work in Paraguay that he must have a taxpayer identification number (RUC), he will find it in English on Paraguayan government websites. If you tell him that he must have a "unique taxpayer registry", he will find it in some dictionaries, but nowhere in real life, and will have trouble finding out where to pay it. So it matters very much.

09:22 Dec 11, 2009 

Gerard, RUC is the abbreviation for Registro Único de Contribuyentes, it makes no difference how many countries use it; the meaning is already provided in this case.

07:18 Dec 11, 2009 

"RUC" is used in several countries, and some may have an 'official' translation, but it may not be the same for each country.