Embargo In SAP GTS Edition for Hana
When it comes to international trade, compliance isn’t just a best practice—it’s the law. One of the most critical areas businesses need to stay sharp on is embargoes. If you’re using SAP Global Trade Services (SAP GTS), embargo checks are your first line of defence against trading with prohibited countries.
What Is an Embargo in SAP GTS?
An embargo is a restriction or ban on import/export between certain countries, imposed by authorities (e.g., EU, UN, US). SAP GTS helps you enforce such restrictions through automated embargo checks.
Why It Matters
Manually tracking embargoes across hundreds of countries and changing political landscapes? Practically impossible. That’s why embargo checks in SAP GTS are so powerful—they help companies:
- Streamline export processes without cutting corners
- Stay legally compliant
- Avoid fines and penalties
- Maintain a clean reputation
Embargo Check in SAP GTS
SAP GTS helps automate embargo checks to ensure that no transactions are executed with embargoed countries or entities. The embargo check is part of the broader Compliance Management module, alongside sanctioned party list screening and legal control.
How SAP GTS Helps?
SAP GTS automates the process of checking for embargoes using its Compliance Management component. Here’s how it works:
- 🌍 Country-Level Screening: The system checks the country of your business partner (like a customer or vendor) against a list of embargoed nations.
- 📜 Legal Regulations: Embargo rules are stored in SAP GTS as legal regulations. These can be global (like UN or EU embargoes) or country-specific (like US OFAC sanctions).
- 🔒 Automatic Blocking: If a transaction involves an embargoed country, SAP GTS can automatically block it—no shipping, no invoicing, no violations.
Types of Embargo Checks
SAP GTS performs embargo checks at three levels:
- Country Level – Basic embargo based on individual countries (e.g., UN sanctions).
- Legal Regulation + Country – Embargo based on legal regulations (e.g., EU embargo).
- Legal Regulation + Country Combination – For Partial Embargo, based on specific combinations of country of departure and destination.
Activation & Configuration:
Setting up embargo checks in SAP GTS involves three key steps:
- Define Legal Regulation for Embargo.
- Activate Legal Regulation at Country / Country Group level.
- Activate Legal Regulations at Embargo Level for export and import.
- Set Control Settings for the Embargo Check
SAP delivers predefined legal regulations like EMBUN (Embargo – United Nations), which can be copied or used as templates
Maintain Embargo in SAP GTS
Use the ‘Manage Embargo Situations‘ Fiori app to maintain:
- Country-specific embargoes
- Legal Regulation + Country embargoes
- Legal Regulation + Country Combination embargoes (for partial embargo scenarios)
How the Embargo Check Works
When a trade document (e.g., purchase order, sales order, customs declaration) is created, SAP GTS checks:
- The destination country (e.g., derived from the ship-to party)
- The country group, if applicable
- The partner functions defined in the partner groupings (
PGEMB1,PGEMB2)
If a match is found with an embargoed country under an active legal regulation, the system blocks the document.
System Behaviour & Processing
When an embargo match is found during a compliance check, SAP GTS blocks the transaction. Blocked documents are reviewed in the ‘Manage Blocked Documents’ app or ‘Display Documents – Compliance Management’.
🛑Document Blocks & Release
Blocked documents due to embargo violations can only be released manually. Users must:
- Provide a reason for release (predefined in customizing)
- Optionally add free-text explanations
- Use apps like Manage Blocked Documents and Display Released Embargo Documents
- Review embargo area, logs, and partner functions.
- Documents can only be released manually – no override via licenses.
🚨 Note: Once a blocked document is released, it cannot be rechecked unless a relevant field (e.g., country code) is changed
Important Notes
- Partial embargo is implemented through country-of-departure and destination combinations.
- Legal Control licenses cannot override embargo blocks.
- Embargo checks must be configured correctly to reflect Partial Embargo behaviour.
📬 Email Notifications & Monitoring
To keep stakeholders informed, SAP GTS allows you to:
- Set up email alerts when a document is blocked
- Define user groups for notification routing
- Use SAP CONNECT (via SCOT) for mail server integration
You can also analyse release trends via the Analyse Embargo Release Reasons app.
🔄 Incompleteness Check in Customs
In Customs Management, the embargo check can integrate with the incompleteness check of customs declarations. Based on configuration, the system can generate an error or warning message to prevent customs filing until the issue is resolved
Summary Table
| Feature | Details |
| App to Use | Manage Embargo Situations |
| Embargo Levels | Country, Legal Regulation, Country Combination |
| Partial Embargo | Based on departure + destination country |
| Embargo Block Result | Transaction blocked in GTS |
| Release Options | Manual release only |
| Display Tools | Manage Blocked Documents, Display Documents, Embargo Logs |
Final Thoughts
Embargo checks in SAP GTS aren’t just about avoiding risk—they’re about doing business the right way in a global economy.
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