When installing the EFRIS Offline Mode Enabler on Windows, you may find that Apache Tomcat installs and runs as two services, but the Tax Control Service (TCS) itself never registers, it's absent from `services.msc`, and browsing to the TCS URL returns a 404 error. Here's how to resolve it.
Start Clean
If a previous install attempt left things in a questionable state, uninstall completely and delete the install folder (commonly `C:\TaxControlService`) before retrying. A partial install layered with a retry tends to mask the real problem.
Check Your Prerequisites' Architecture, Not Just Their Presence
The most common silent cause is an architecture mismatch between your JDK and your Visual C++ Redistributable. It's not enough to have some version of VC++ 2015–2022 installed, it needs to match your JDK's bitness.
Confirm in Control Panel → Programs and Features:
JDK 8 (64-bit) — the actual JDK, not just a JRE
VC++ 2013 Redistributable (x64)
VC++ 2015–2022 Redistributable (x64) — many systems only end up with the x86 build installed as a side effect of other software, while the TCS native service wrapper needs x64. Tomcat itself installs fine either way, so this mismatch is easy to miss.
Confirm Administrator Rights
If Windows 11 signed you in with a Microsoft or Azure AD account, don't assume it's an admin by default. Check Settings → Accounts → Your info, or Control Panel → Change the account type (which will tell you outright if you're the sole administrator).
Even as an admin, always right-click the installer and choose "Run as administrator" rather than double-clicking it, service registration typically depends on that explicit elevation.
Get the JDK/JRE Paths Right
The setup wizard's "Tomcat set jdk and jre environment" screen asks for two paths. For JDK 8, the correct JRE path is the `\jre` subfolder nested inside the JDK install (e.g. `...\jdk1.8.0_202\jre`), not a separately installed standalone JRE, which many systems also have alongside the JDK. Use Browse to open that folder and confirm it's populated with `.dll` files before proceeding.
Verify After Install
Once the installer completes with correct prerequisites, admin rights, and paths set:
Check `services.msc` for the TCS/TaxControlService entry
Start it manually and watch for error popups
Check the install directory's `logs` folder for anything unexpected
Quick Checklist
Check | Why it matters |
JDK 8 (64-bit), not just JRE | TCS setup needs the full JDK path |
VC++ 2013 x64 VC++ 2015–2022 x64 | Architecture mismatch silently breaks service registration |
Administrator account confirmed | Service install needs elevated rights |
Installer run via "Run as administrator" | Being an admin user ≠ running elevated |
JDK/JRE paths correct and populated | Wrong/empty JRE path breaks Tomcat setup |
