LatviaLaw on the accessibility of goods and services, accessibility of services, scope, microenterprise exemption and transitional rules
Preču un pakalpojumu piekļūstamības likums, 3., 12. pants un pārejas noteikumi
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you provide an e-commerce service, consumer financial services (consumer credit, investment and ancillary services, payment services, payment-account services or electronic money), an electronic communications service, access to audiovisual media services, an e-book service, or the website, app, e-ticketing, travel information or interactive self-service terminals of an air, bus, rail or waterborne passenger transport service (for urban and regional transport, only the interactive self-service terminals), provide it in accordance with the accessibility requirements of Cabinet Regulation 128 (Law, Arts. 3(2) and 12(1); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 13(1)).
- If you employ fewer than 10 persons and your annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2,000,000, you are exempt from the service accessibility requirements; if you employ 10 or more persons, or your turnover and balance sheet total both exceed EUR 2,000,000, they apply to you (Art. 3(6); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 4(5)).
- Service contracts concluded up to are outside the requirements until ; a contract that continues after that day must be brought into conformity. Self-service terminals in use before may stay in use to the end of their economically useful life, but for no more than 20 years (transitional points 2 to 4).
- A passenger transport service that meets the accessible-information requirements of the EU passenger rights regulations listed in Article 5 is treated as meeting the Law on those points (Art. 5).
- Put into your terms of use or an equivalent document a general description of the service in accessible formats, the explanations needed to understand how it works, and a confirmation that the way it is provided and monitored keeps it in conformity (Art. 12(2)).
- Make that information available to the public in accessible formats and keep it until you stop providing the service (Art. 12(4)).
- Keep the service in conformity throughout, taking account of changes in the process, the requirements, and the standards or technical specifications relied on (Art. 12(5)).
- If the service does not meet the requirements, take corrective measures and inform the competent authorities of the Member States where it is provided, with the details (Art. 12(6)).
- On a reasoned request, give the competent authority the information it needs to see that the service conforms, and cooperate with it (Art. 12(7)).
- Answer a written accessibility complaint from a consumer or passenger in writing within one month, extendable to two months for objective reasons with notice stating why; for an electronic communications service, answer within 15 days, or 30 days where an additional check is needed (Art. 21(1); Law on Regulators of Public Utilities, Art. 25(4)).
- Content of online maps where navigation information is given in an accessible digital format, and third-party content you did not fund, develop or control, is outside the Law, as are recordings and office file formats published up to and website or app content not updated or edited up to that day (Art. 3(4) and transitional point 1).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
The Law on the accessibility of goods and services sets no fine of its own for a service provider. A competent authority's decision under Article 23(3) is an administrative act enforced under Article 368 of the Administrative Procedure Law, which allows a coercive fine: EUR 50 to 5,000 for a natural person and EUR 100 to 10,000 for a legal person (Article 370(3)), which may be imposed again no sooner than seven days after the previous one until the decision is complied with (Article 370(2)); no total cap is stated.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Minimum
- 50
- Currency
- EUR
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 10,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
the competent authorities named in Article 22 of the Law: the Public Utilities Commission for electronic communications services; the National Electronic Mass Media Council for services giving access to audiovisual media services; the Civil Aviation Agency for the websites, mobile services, travel information and self-service terminals of air passenger transport; the Autotransporta direkcija for bus and domestic rail passenger transport; the State Railway Administration for international rail passenger transport; the Consumer Rights Protection Centre for e-books, e-commerce, waterborne passenger transport, air e-tickets and, until , consumer financial services; the Bank of Latvia for consumer financial services from ; and the municipality for the interactive self-service terminals of urban buses, trams and trolleybuses
What it reaches
Instrument type
an act of a legislature
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- Any of
- Criteria
- the service provider employs 10 or more persons (Article 3(6) exempts an economic operator providing services in the Law's scope "kurš nodarbina mazāk par 10 personām un kura gada apgrozījums nepārsniedz 2 000 000 euro vai gada bilances kopsumma nepārsniedz 2 000 000 euro": that employs fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover does not exceed EUR 2,000,000 or whose annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2,000,000)
- the service provider has both an annual turnover and an annual balance sheet total above EUR 2,000,000
What this law does
Article 12(1) of the Law requires a service provider to provide its service in accordance with the accessibility requirements. The Law states that it includes legal norms arising from Directive (EU) 2019/882. Article 13(1) of the Directive requires service providers to ensure that they design and provide services in accordance with the accessibility requirements of the Directive.
Article 3(2) of the Law covers electronic communications services other than inter-device communication services, services giving access to audiovisual media services, elements of air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport services, consumer credit, investment services and ancillary services, payment services, payment-account services and electronic money for consumers, e-books and their software, and e-commerce services.
Article 1(1) point 10 defines the service provider as a private person that provides a service on the European Union market or offers to provide it to consumers in the Union. The law of added to Article 1(1) a definition of service as a service provided in the course of an economic or professional activity, usually for remuneration.
Article 3(4) excludes from the Law the content of online maps where essential navigation information is given in an accessible digital format, and third-party content unless the operator funded, developed or controls it. Article 3(6) exempts a microenterprise service provider from the service accessibility requirements. Article 4(5) of the Directive exempts microenterprises providing services from the service accessibility requirements and the obligations relating to compliance with them.
Article 12(2) requires the provider to put into its terms of use or an equivalent document information on how the service meets the accessibility requirements, including a general description in accessible formats and explanations of how the service works. Article 12(2) point 3 requires that document to confirm that the way the service is provided and monitored keeps it in conformity with the requirements.
Article 12(4) requires the provider to make that information available to the public in accessible formats and to keep it until it stops providing the service. Article 12(5) requires the provider to keep the service in conformity continuously while providing it. Article 12(6) requires a provider whose service is found not to meet the requirements to take corrective measures and to inform the competent authorities of the Member States where the service is provided.
Article 12(7) requires the provider to give the competent authority, on a reasoned request, the information needed to show conformity, and to cooperate with it. Article 13(3) requires the provider to document its assessment of fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden in writing and to keep it for five years after the service was last provided.
Article 13(3) also requires the provider to renew the disproportionate burden assessment for each category or type of service at least every five years, or earlier if the service changes or the authority requires it. Article 21(1) requires the provider to answer a written consumer or passenger complaint about accessibility in writing within one month, setting out a possible solution, measures to remedy the non-conformity or a reasoned refusal.
Article 21(1) lets the provider extend that period to two months from receipt of the complaint where there are objective reasons. Point 1 of the transitional provisions provides that the requirements do not apply to audio and video recordings and office file formats published up to , or to the content of websites and mobile applications that is not updated or edited up to .
Point 2 of the transitional provisions provides that service contracts concluded up to are outside the requirements, but a contract that continues after must then be brought into conformity. Point 3 of the transitional provisions lets a provider keep using, until , goods it lawfully used before to provide similar services.
Point 4 of the transitional provisions lets a provider keep using self-service terminals used before until the end of their economically useful life, but for no more than 20 years after first use. Article 32 of the Directive requires a transitional period ending on for services provided using products lawfully used before that date. Article 3(3) of the Law applies the Law to answering the single European emergency number 112.
Point 5 of the transitional provisions sets as the day Article 3(3) enters into force. Article 1(8) of the Administrative Procedure Law defines a private person as a natural person, a legal person governed by private law or an association of such persons. Article 23(3) lets the competent authority, where the provider does not remedy a non-conformity voluntarily, adopt a decision ordering the necessary actions within a set time.
Article 368(1) of the Administrative Procedure Law has an administrative act that obliges its addressee to perform an action enforced by substitute performance, a coercive fine or direct force. Article 370(3) of that Law sets the coercive fine at EUR 50 to 5,000 for a natural person and EUR 100 to 10,000 for a legal person. Article 370(2) lets the coercive fine be imposed again, no sooner than seven days after the previous one, until the addressee complies.
Article 3(2) point 3 covers the websites, mobile services and apps, electronic tickets and e-ticketing, travel information and interactive self-service terminals of passenger transport services, but reaches urban and regional transport services only through their interactive self-service terminals.
Article 5 treats passenger transport services that meet the requirements on accessible information and information on accessibility in the European Union passenger rights regulations it lists as meeting the Law. Article 3(5) leaves unaffected the Copyright Law and Regulation (EU) 2017/1563 on accessible-format copies for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.
Article 12(3) lets the provider apply harmonised standards and technical specifications published in the Official Journal, in whole or in part, to meet the information requirements of Article 12(2). Article 21(1) has a complaint about the accessibility of an electronic communications service answered within the period set by the Law on Regulators of Public Utilities.
Article 25(4) of the Law on Regulators of Public Utilities requires a public utility provider to answer a user's written complaint within 15 days, or within 30 days where an additional check or substantial further information is needed. Article 2(4)(e) of the Directive excludes the content of websites and mobile applications qualifying as archives, which only contain content not updated or edited after .
Article 22 point 7 makes the municipality the competent authority for the interactive self-service terminals of urban buses, trams and trolleybuses. Article 22 point 6 makes the Consumer Rights Protection Centre the competent authority for, among others, the electronic tickets and e-ticketing of air passenger transport.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface, ships a mobile app, provides telecom services or provides financial services.
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