Mass data transmission (ELMA)

Data is exchanged in the XML format and in an automatic procedure using the ELMA mass data interface.

The ELMA Communication Manual and its accompanying XSD schema can be found under the tab "Communication Manual".

Activation for the ELMA interface

In order to send data to BZSt, you must first register with the competent specialist unit at BZSt (St I A 2). To do so, please use the contact form “Registration as the submitting person or company to electronically transmit data in the CbCR procedure.” By registering, you are telling the specialist unit that you wish to send data. You must register with BZSt regardless of whether the reporting office already sends or has sent data using the mass data interface ELMA as part of another process.

Registration is required only for the submitting person or company, i.e. for the reporting office that ultimately sends the data to BZSt (foreign service providers, domestic subsidiary or the parent business itself) and must occur only once, prior to the first data transmission. Information on the ultimate parent company and, if different, the submitting person or company must be entered in the registration. If the parent company does not transmit the data itself, a power of attorney must be sent to BZSt via e-mail or mail.

If you still do not use the BOP and thus do not have an active BZSt number or have a valid login, you must register for the portal. Otherwise, you may skip this step. Based on the registration submitted, you will be informed of any other steps required once reviewed by BZSt.

Certificates created based on a BZSt number and beginning with “BZ5" cannot be used for the mass data interface. Please request a new BZSt number if you currently have only a BZ5 number.

Information for commissioned service providers

A commissioned service provider must have its own BZSt number to be able to participate in the ELMA interface transmission. It may need to register for the BOP. All information can be found in the ELMA Communication Manual.

All transmissions, including for multiple businesses, are sent under the same BZSt numbers as the commissioned service providers.

For each business, the commissioned service provider must register for electronic mass data transmission (ELMA) using the contact form "Registration as the submitting person or company to electronically transmit data in the CbCR procedure".

You can send the power of attorney for the transmission to BZSt via e-mail or mail. The type of power of attorney (transmission power of attorney and/or notification power of attorney) must also be specified.

Transmitting test data

You can send test data deliveries to the ELMA interface as part of your integration test. Data transmission is described in the ELMA Communication Manual. In deviation from this, the following distinctions must be noted:

In deviation from the ELMA Communication Manual, "elma5c.bfinv.de" is to be used to deliver data. The IP address may change without prior notice. As a result, use the domain name system (DNS) to determine the IP address.

The server "elma5p.bfinv.de" must not be used to deliver test data!

During the integration test, all deliveries must be marked as test deliveries in the ELMA header using the XML field <processing run>. To do so, enter the value "TEST RUN" in this field.

BZSt is also unable to change or delete your data deliveries in the test environment. Please ensure that you do not put actual data in the test system or test data in the production system.