Duty Setup

As a Business Manager
I want to create a duty code for a new type of excise duty
So that the system can track and calculate obligations for this duty type across all relevant items and transactions

Setup:

1. Open Duties from the search or the Duty Reporting menu.
2. Select New to create a new record.
3. Enter a short Code (up to 10 characters) that identifies this duty type.
4. Enter a Description that makes it recognisable to users.
5. Set the Unit of Measure Code to the unit used by the duty authority (e.g. LTR for litres, KG for kilograms).
6. Set Item Charge No. to the item charge that will be used to post duty costs to the general ledger during settlement and reimbursement.
7. Save the record.

Note: The Item Charge No. is mandatory before the settlement and reimbursement processes can create purchase invoice or credit memo lines for this duty.

As a Business Manager
I want to flag a duty code as a Warehousekeeper duty
So that items received into a customs warehouse location are suspended rather than immediately imposed, and the system handles the bonded warehouse duty lifecycle correctly

Setup:

1. Open Duties and find or create the relevant duty code.
2. Enable the Warehousekeeper toggle on the duty card.
3. Ensure at least one location is configured in Customs Warehouse Setup (see the Customs Warehouse article) before transacting items with this duty.

Note: When this flag is set, the system will error if a duty-subject item with this code is received on a location that is not configured as a Customs Warehouse. Only enable this flag if you have at least one customs warehouse location set up.

As a Accountant
I want to add a new duty rate with a starting date for an existing duty code
So that the system automatically applies the correct rate on transactions posted on or after that date, without affecting historical entries

Setup:

1. Open Duties and open the relevant duty code.
2. From the duty card, open Duty Rates.
3. Select New and enter the Starting Date from which this rate applies.
4. Enter the Duty Rate — the amount of duty per duty unit of measure.
5. Save. The system will now use this rate for all transactions posted on or after the starting date.

Note: You can maintain a full rate history by adding multiple lines. The system always selects the line with the most recent Starting Date that is on or before the transaction posting date. There is no end date — rates remain valid until superseded by a newer line.

As a Purchasing Agent
I want to link an item to a duty code and specify the conversion factor
So that the system automatically creates duty entries whenever this item is purchased, sold, or transferred

Setup:

1. Open the Item Card for the item subject to duty.
2. Navigate to the Duty Reporting FastTab, or search for Item Duty Setup and filter on the item.
3. Select New and set the Duty Code to the relevant duty code.
4. Enter Qty. per Item Unit of Measure — the number of duty units (in the duty's unit of measure) contained in one unit of the item as stocked. For example, if the item is a 75cl bottle and the duty unit is litres, enter 0.75.
5. Save. The system will now create duty entries automatically for all posted item transactions involving this item.

Note: If an item carries multiple duty obligations (e.g. both an excise duty and an environmental levy), add one line per duty code. The system handles multiple duties per item independently.

As a Accountant
I want to mark a General Business Posting Group as duty-free for a specific duty code
So that purchases from vendors in that group do not generate imposition duty entries — only carryforward entries

Setup:

1. Open Duty Posting Setup from the search or the Duty Reporting menu.
2. Select New and set Gen. Bus. Posting Group to the posting group assigned to the relevant vendors.
3. Set Duty Code to the duty code in question.
4. Enable the Duty-free toggle.
5. Save.

Note: When a purchase is posted from a vendor whose Gen. Bus. Posting Group matches a duty-free line in Duty Posting Setup, the system creates a Carryforward entry instead of an Imposition entry. Carryforward entries are immediately settled and do not appear in the settlement run.

As a Accountant
I want to mark a General Business Posting Group as duty-free for a specific duty code on the customer side
So that sales to customers in that group automatically trigger a duty reimbursement when shipped

Setup:

1. Open Duty Posting Setup.
2. Select New and set Gen. Bus. Posting Group to the posting group assigned to the relevant customers.
3. Set Duty Code to the duty code in question.
4. Enable the Duty-free toggle.
5. Save.

Note: When a sales shipment is posted to a customer whose Gen. Bus. Posting Group matches a duty-free line, the system automatically creates a Reimbursement duty entry. This reimbursement can then be processed through the Create Duty Reimbursement batch to generate a purchase credit memo line.

As a Sales Order Processor
I want to add a duty exemption for a specific customer on a specific duty code
So that sales to this customer always generate a reimbursement, regardless of their General Business Posting Group

Setup:

1. Open the Customer Card for the customer.
2. Navigate to Customer Duty Exemptions (available as an action or related page from the customer card).
3. Select New and set Duty Code to the duty code for which this customer is exempt.
4. Save.

Note: Customer-level exemptions take precedence over Duty Posting Setup. If a customer has an exemption line for a duty code, the system will treat them as duty-free for that code regardless of their posting group. This is useful for customers who have obtained a specific duty licence or exemption certificate.

As a Accountant
I want to add a new rate line with the effective date of the rate change
So that transactions posted before the change date retain the old rate, and transactions from the new date use the updated rate

Setup:

1. Open Duties and open the relevant duty code.
2. From the duty card, open Duty Rates.
3. Add a new line with the Starting Date set to the date the new rate takes effect.
4. Enter the new Duty Rate.
5. Save. Do not delete or modify the existing rate lines — they are needed for historical accuracy.

Note: The system performs a date-filtered lookup on duty rates at posting time. The rate on the resulting entry reflects the rate that was valid on that posting date, ensuring that the duty entries ledger is historically accurate even after rate changes.

As a Purchasing Agent
I want to assign more than one duty code to an item
So that all applicable duty obligations are tracked independently for that item

Setup:

1. Open the Item Card or navigate to Item Duty Setup.
2. Add a line for each duty code that applies to the item, each with its own Qty. per Item Unit of Measure conversion factor.
3. Save.

Note: The system processes each duty code independently when item transactions are posted. Each results in its own set of duty entries. Duty Posting Setup and customer exemptions are also evaluated independently per duty code.

As a Business Manager
I want to delete a duty code that is no longer applicable
So that the setup list stays clean and users are not confused by obsolete codes

Setup:

1. Open Duties and select the duty code to remove.
2. Attempt to delete the record.
3. The system will block deletion if any Duty Entries exist for this code. If blocked, do not proceed — the code must be retained for historical integrity.
4. If no entries exist, confirm the deletion.

Note: Duty codes with existing entries — even fully settled ones — cannot be deleted. This protects the integrity of the duty ledger. If you want to prevent the code from being used on new items, remove it from all Item Duty Setup lines instead.