Designed by Gustave Eiffel's company, it was built between 1871 and 1874, prior to the annexation of Arica by Chile.

[1] The 1868 Arica earthquake destroyed the earlier custom house, which was built on the same site.

As a result, in 1871 the then Peruvian president José Balta commissioned Gustave Eiffel's company to design a building to serve as a custom house, which was inaugurated in 1874.

The exterior walls are made of bricks brought from France, reinforced with ashlar columns.

The building consists of a two-story central section with flanking one story wings.