1. What does Intrastat stand for?
Intrastat stands for Intra-Community Trade Statistics. Intrastat declarations are used to record the actual trade in goods between the member states of the European Community. Intrastat declarations are summarized in the so-called intra-trade statistics. Reportable goods movements include all traditional goods as well as rent, leasing, transfer of ownership and electricity. Services, on the other hand, are not included in the intra-trade statistics. If, for example, a movement of goods involves processing, which is a service, this movement of goods must also be recorded because physical goods are moved in the process.
This means that all outgoing and incoming deliveries within 27 European countries are recorded in one statistic. This information is needed to monitor industrial performance and make economic policy decisions on this basis.
2. Which companies are affected by the reporting obligation?
Companies that receive more than EUR 800,000.00 or send more than EUR 500,000.00 per year within the EU are required to report.
3. how often must the notification be made?
The frequency of reporting depends on the value of the inputs and outputs, which is calculated accordingly. As a general rule, however, it can be said that reports are submitted once a month in medium-sized companies. The deadline for receipt of the report is the 10th of the following month.
4. What does S/4HANA do for processing an Intrastat declaration?
One component of S/4HANA is the International Trade solution. Intrastat declarations can be created from the solution via Fiori apps. This generates an IDEV-compliant declaration file in XML format. IDEV is the internet platform via which the Intrastat declaration must be uploaded.
5. What are commodity codes and customs tariff numbers?
Our experience shows that there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty on this topic, which is why we are going into more detail.
Commodity code:
- Used to code goods in order to make a declaration of export or import to the authorities. This is the actual number for the Intrastat declaration.
- It is an 8-digit number.
Customs tariff number:
- Used for national classification, for example to encode VAT rates or national prohibitions and restrictions. This number is used for all other exports that take place outside the EU.
- Can contain a maximum of 11 digits, with the first 8 digits corresponding to the commodity code.
Both the commodity code and the customs tariff number can be mapped with Fiori.
The first six digits are mandatory for the HS (Harmonized System) and are identical worldwide. They do not say much about the product, but provide a rough categorization. The categorization becomes more specific with additional digits.
Positions seven and eight form the CN - Combined Nomenclature, which is used throughout the EU for foreign trade within the framework of the Common Commercial Policy.
The TARIC subheading represents the ninth and tenth digit of the customs tariff number. The TARIC code is used to encode common measures of the European Union, such as anti-dumping duties or tariff quotas. The TARIC code is therefore a specification of the CN code.
The eleventh digit is a national digit, in this case Germany-wide. This value is determined within Germany to indicate the sales tax or regulations applicable to the product, such as import or export restrictions. This number is the most specific classification of a product.
6. What are the advantages and challenges of S/4HANA?
In S/4HANA, the former ECC Foreign Trade module is being replaced by the International Trade solution. This results in a number of changes, some of which are associated with challenges, but some of which offer more efficient processing of Intrastat declarations.
In S/4HANA, tables containing foreign trade data will change. For example, the ECC table T604 will be replaced by two tables in S/4HANA: /SAPSLL/CLSNR and /SAPSLL/CLSNRT. Other tables are also split into several new tables in S/4HANA. This makes importing data more complicated.
Three solutions for data import
The following three solutions are conceivable for moving foreign trade data from an ECC system to S/4HANA:
- Manual creation: For many customers, this is actually the most efficient way if the company has a small number of commodity codes.
- Obtaining commodity codes from a third-party provider.
- Relocation with a function module.
Creation and maintenance of commodity codes: In ECC, commodity codes are maintained for each product in the material master at plant level. Under S/4HANA, this is only possible via the "Manage commodity codes" app. The new numbering scheme under which the commodity code is maintained increases efficiency. In Configuration, schemas are maintained in advance, which have a country assignment:
This means that there is no longer a factory assignment. However, a product can still have different commodity codes, depending on the numbering scheme:
Another improvement is the validity date. This means that the possible changes to the numbers from the Federal Statistical Office can be entered with validity periods and used seamlessly.
7. How are the Intrastat declarations sent?
Intrastat declarations to the Federal Statistical Office are also created via Fiori - with the "Dispatches and customer returns" app or for receipts - with the "Receipts and supplier returns" app. The Intrastat report can be created either manually or by job at defined regular intervals. However, the file created in the process must be uploaded manually in the IDEV portal.
If you have any further questions about Intrastat, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Summary
The changeover to SAP Fiori brings a number of changes for Intrastat. With the new numbering scheme and the introduction of validity periods, SAP is creating more efficient processing of Intrastat declarations. Where previously various plants with the same commodity code had to be maintained for each country, S/4HANA now handles this at numbering scheme level in a much more user-friendly way. Overall, all functionalities have been retained, albeit in other places, and nothing stands in the way of Intrastat reporting in S/4HANA.
