Practical Guide to SAP GTS Part 2: Preference and Customs Management

2.1 Customs declarations overview

2.1.1 Imports

SAP GTS has a document called a customs declaration. While they can be created manually in SAP GTS, the typical source is from purchase orders in SAP ECC.

As a purchase order is saved in SAP ECC (transaction ME21N), the information is automatically transferred to SAP GTS, and an equivalent customs declaration document is created in the system.

In SAP GTS, you can view these customs documents in transaction /SAPSLL/MENU_LEGAL, otherwise known as the SAP GTS Cockpit. From here, head to Customs Management • Import.

Figure 2.4 displays this screen, which allows you to generate the customs declaration worklist. Click execute () next to Enter Customs Declaration Prior To Goods Receipt.

Figure 2.4: Customs management: import

This brings up the report shown in Figure 2.5. The report allows you to display the purchase orders that were logged into SAP ECC.

Figure 2.5: Review and prepare customs declarations prior to goods receipt

This report displays all of the relevant purchase orders that have been logged in SAP ECC for which equivalent SAP GTS customs declaration documents are created (see Figure 2.6). There are multiple fields you can use to narrow the results of the report, but the following two are mandatory.

• Foreign Trade Org Unit
• Any one selection criterion from any of the three tabs (you cannot run this with absolutely no parameters)

Figure 2.6: Customs declaration prior to goods receipt

This worklist provides the details of the vendor, purchase order, item number, any inbound delivery, open quantity, unit of measure, product number, and the declared quantity. The inbound delivery triggers confirmation of the goods arrival (also called advanced shipment notification), and these documents are identified for customs pre-clearance.

There are generally two things users do with these declarations, and each one represents a different business model.

• Self-filing option: you can electronically send the declaration directly to customs, or
• Customs broker option: you can send the declaration to a customs broker, who will transmit the declaration to customs for you.

There are advantages and risks for each option, and both will be covered in this book. Section 2.2, Section 2.3, and Section 2.4 cover the setup and configuration required for creating and managing customs declarations. This is required for both business models. Section 2.7 covers the configuration steps required for self-filing.

The user guide in Section 2.8.2 covers the tasks related to each option, and Section 2.9.2 discusses the benefits and risks of each option.

2.1.2 Exports

The other aspect of customs management is the export declaration. These are very similar to import declarations but are generally tied to sales orders or deliveries. Similar to imports, these can be used to generate a paper document or self-file electronically with the US Department of Census.

If you self-file in the US using the Automated Export System (AES), you can use SAP GTS for that. The required steps are noted in Section 2.5.

The equivalent system in Germany is ATLAS, and SAP GTS can also be used to self-file with that system (see Section 2.6).

Section 2.8.3 discusses the review process for a use, prior to submitting an export declaration.