Reclassifying Products after Updating a Nomenclature

As the product world is constantly changing, the HS is subject to regular changes to reflect the commercial and technological evolution. The World Customs Organization (WCO) revises the HS every five years.

Nomenclatures that are based on the HS usually change at much shorter intervals. New commodity codes and customs tariff numbers have to be defined for new products. Other products disappear from the market in the course of technical innovations, so their commodity codes and customs tariff numbers become superfluous.

The CN, for example, is updated every year. Customs and statistical authorities in some Member States publish tabular comparison of expiring CN codes and their replacements based on information received from the European Commission.

An obsolete commodity code may be replaced by exactly one new code. However, it may also be split up into two or more new codes. An amalgamation of two codes is equally possible.

These changes can have an impact on the product master in SAP GTS. If a product is classified under an expiring commodity code or customs tariff number, it must be reclassified in time. This reclassification can be done manually or based on a reclassification file received from the provider of the respective nomenclatures.

The corresponding numbering scheme contents have to be updated first: The validity periods of existing commodity codes or customs tariff numbers have to be adapted, and new codes or numbers have to be added. The reclassification file can then be uploaded using the Reclassify Products - XML-based app. For manual reclassification, you can use the Reclassify Products Manually app instead.

If an obsolete commodity code or customs tariff number is replaced by exactly one new code or number, SAP GTS automatically reclassifies all products affected by this change. If a code or number is replaced by more than one new code or number, a competent user has to determine the appropriate replacement for each product separately. The upload of a reclassification file therefore creates a worklist containing all products for which an individual decision is required. You can display this worklist using the Reclassify Products - XML-based app.

SAP GTS never replaces existing classifications but limits their validity period and adds entries for the new classifications.