A device for peeling and cutting off a surface portion (4c) of a paper roll (4) comprises a rotary support (1) that rotates the paper roll (4), a cutter guide (2) that reciprocally moves between positions for contacting and not contacting the paper roll surface portion, and a cutting device (3) that reciprocally moves parallel to a paper roll axis for cutting off the surface portion. In the contacting position, the cutter guide enters under the surface portion via a leading end (4a) of the paper roll when the paper roll is rotated and thereby forms a clearance under the surface portion. The cutter is inserted in the clearance and moves parallel to the paper roll axis to cut off only the surface portion of the paper roll along its entire width.