BZSt renews eFCA certificate, extends eFCA to UK VAT requests

The Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) renewed the certificate for the web applicationBzst that German tax authorities use to file cross-border recovery and service requests. The old certificate expires within days; after that, access to the web application with the old certificate is no longer possible. The new certificate is available for password-protected download under Startseite > Behörden > Internationale Amtshilfe > Amtshilfe für Beitreibung und Zustellung, in a 7 MB archive that also carries an installation guide and further information on zwischenstaatliche Beitreibungsamtshilfe in Steuersachen.

The same update revises the standing instructions for requests under Directive 2010/24/EU. The Commission's central web application for drawing up and processing such requests — the electronic Forms Central Application (eFCA) — is now mandatory not only for requests under the Directive and the VAT agreement with Norway, but also for requests under the VAT Protocol of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the United KingdomBzst. Access for Landes- and Kommunalfinanzbehörden runs via a web link plus certificate; the current certificate is now valid until September 2027Bzst, previously October 2026, and is replaced before expiry, with the new certificate posted in the password-protected download area in good time.

The previous password, Kennwort A ending in R, remains valid and continues to unlock the current downloads. Municipalities and municipal associations are newly advised to set up a functional mailbox for electronic communication with the BZSt — for example beitreibungsamtshilfe@mustergemeinde.de — so that incoming mail is handled promptly by other responsible staff during staff changes or unplanned absences. The files for drawing up requests under the EU Recovery Directive remain password-protected, and access credentials are sent by post after a request via the contact form or to Referat St I A 1 - Beitreibung und Zustellung, 53221 Bonn.

The form for treaty-based requests changes too. A new Rückstandsanzeige für Ersuchen nach DBA bzw. Amts- und Rechtshilfeabkommen (docx, 28 KB) replaces Annex 7a of the Merkblatt, except for Japan and CanadaBzst — previously the exception covered only AustriaBzst. The parallel Vorblatt für den ordnungsgemäßen Dienstweg and the Zustellungsersuchen forms under § 9(1) nos. 2 and 3 VwZG are unchanged. Requests admissible under the EU Recovery Directive remain Auskunftsersuchen for enforcement purposes, Zustellungsersuchen, Beitreibungsersuchen and Sicherungsersuchen; the BZSt forwards domestic requests to the competent foreign authority and receives corresponding foreign requests.

Legal basis: Directive 2010/24/EU, implemented domestically by the EU-Beitreibungsgesetz (EUBeitrG) of 7 December 2011 (BGBl. I p. 2592), with Commission Implementing Regulation 1189/2011 as amended by Regulation 2017/1966 and Implementing Decision K(2011) 8193, plus the collection clauses of double-tax and mutual-assistance agreements, modelled on Article 27 of the OECD Model Convention.