EAA microenterprise and disproportionate burden decisions

Article 4(5) exempts microenterprises providing services from complying with the EAA accessibility requirements for services and obligations relating to compliance with those requirements. The exemption is tied to service provision and microenterprise status; it is not a general group-company, product, or supply-chain exemption.

Article 3 defines a microenterprise by both headcount and financial limits: fewer than 10 persons and annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2 million or annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million. The Directive incorporates the enterprise definition in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. Its partner- and linked-enterprise rules can require data from related businesses to be included, so a subsidiary should not test only its own payroll and accounts.

Article 14 limits EAA accessibility requirements only to the extent that compliance would require a significant change resulting in fundamental alteration of the product or service's basic nature, or would impose a disproportionate burden on the economic operator. The operator must still apply the accessibility requirements that do not create that result.

For disproportionate burden, Article 14 points to Annex VI. The Annex requires a documented assessment of cost ratios, one-off and ongoing costs, estimated costs and benefits for the operator, estimated benefit for persons with disabilities, amount and frequency of product or service use, and the ratio of net compliance costs to the operator's net turnover.

Article 14(3) requires economic operators to document the Article 14 assessment and keep all relevant results for five years from the last making available of the product on the market or after the service was last provided, as applicable. Authorities may request a copy of that assessment.

Microenterprises dealing with products get a specific derogation from the Article 14 documentation requirement. If they choose to rely on Article 14 and a market surveillance authority asks, they must still provide the facts relevant to the assessment. Product manufacturers also need technical documentation that can demonstrate an Article 14 claim where used, and the EU declaration of conformity must state which accessibility requirements are subject to the Article 14 exception.

Service providers relying on disproportionate burden must renew the assessment for each category or type of service when the service changes, when the service-compliance authority requests it, and in any event at least every five years.

The supported limits are narrow. Service microenterprise status removes the specified service accessibility compliance duties, but it should be evidenced with the Directive's definition. Article 14 is requirement-specific and product-or-service-specific. It does not remove the duty to comply with accessibility requirements that remain achievable without fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden.

Authority visibility also matters. Product market surveillance authorities check whether an Article 14 assessment was conducted, review the assessment and Annex VI criteria, and check compliance with applicable accessibility requirements. For services, the authorities responsible for checking service compliance also check the Article 14 assessment.