Legal Control in SD Documents 

Purpose

This process describes how the system checks items in sales and distribution (SD) documents against legal control requirements.

Several checks are necessary so that legal control can run smoothly and efficiently. The consistency of the control tables which enable legal control to function correctly needs to be guaranteed. Checks that perform legal control at the item level must be defined. These checks determine whether a license selected from a file can actually be applied to a particular order item.

Legal control is essentially a material flow check, that is, a physical check of the goods that will be exported. Besides the product and country-specific checks, a transaction-specific check, dependent on both business transaction and customer, has to be carried out.

The most significant business partner for the check is the ship-to party and the export date is the desired delivery date in the order header. To support the decision-making process for the checks to be carried out, the data necessary for the checks is entered and managed. This is basic data such as the export control class or indicators for various boycott lists.

The export’s destination country is determined from the address of the ship-to party. If a different address is entered in the order or delivery processing, this different address (and especially the country) takes priority for the legal control check.

Prerequisites

The settings that you need to make in the system for legal control are divided into the three task areas shown in the following graphic:

 

 

Process Flow

  1. The system checks for embargoes and assignment to boycott lists.

The system determines whether the destination country is currently under a general embargo. If so, the system sets the export block indicator and checks the next item.

If there is no embargo on the destination country, the system checks whether the ship-to party is included in a boycott list, such as the American SDN list. If so, it sets the export block indicator and checks the next item.

If a material does not need an export license, then legal control is completed for this item and the system checks the next item.

If a material does not need an export license, you can maintain exemption information in the material master record on the Foreign Trade: Export Data screen.

The legal control block is carried out using system status FTC 1 - 5.
  1. The system checks the legal regulations.

    2. The system carries out checks for each legal regulation. It blocks an item for export if one legal regulation does not allow the export of that item. For example, if the system checks three legal regulations and the item passes two of them but the third one does not allow export, then that one legal regulation blocks the item for export.

    The export control class and the grouping for this material and this legal regulation are determined from the legal control segment in the material master record. If the grouping is not maintained for legal control, then the system blocks the item and checks the next item. Otherwise, the system determines the correct license type for the grouping and legal regulation.

    If the legal regulation to be checked against allows individual checking of the material master records and the material to be checked is marked for these legal regulations as not relevant for legal control, then legal control is completed for these legal regulations and the next ones can be checked. In this case, the grouping not being defined in the material master for these legal regulations does not result in the system's blocking the document item.

    If a license type is found, then the system searches the license master record for a suitable license of this type.

    The system checks that the licenses chosen can be used. If this is the case, legal control has been successful and the system can check the next law for the item. If not, the system sets the export block indicator and checks the next item.

    After the order has been processed completely, the system totals the order items assigned to licenses for which an upper limit applies and updates the appropriate license masters.

    User exits can be implemented before the system check so that checks can be performed which go beyond the scope of those mentioned above.

  2. The system performs subsequent processing of sales orders and deliveries.

    3. If you change orders or deliveries after legal control has already been carried out, the system automatically compares values. These can include the export control class and groupings from the document and the material master records for the individual items. If they do not match, then the system starts the legal control procedure for these items again and issues a log.

    If you call orders in the change mode and save them without making any changes, the system does not perform legal control for the document items. Select Sales document ® Export license ® Redetermination. Export control is then carried out again in full after the document has been posted, if explicitly required.

  3. The system manages and tracks statuses.

After legal control has been completed for an individual order item, it is either blocked or released. Certain subsequent operations cannot be carried out on an item that has been blocked. The blocking procedure is done in order processing using the system status FTC5.

If individual items are blocked in the order, you cannot create a delivery for these items. When you create a delivery based on an order, the system carries out legal control again at the creation of the delivery, picking, packing and goods issue posting stages.

See also

For more information on legal control in SD documents, see Legal Control in Sales Orders and Legal Control in Deliveries.