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The EAA microenterprise exemption: who qualifies

Methodology: Marek Galetka, founder of Pravano. English translation of our Czech article, which a person approved before publication; every number, date and legal reference of the translation is checked automatically against the original.

Cross-checked as of 7 October 2026 · based on primary sources

Updated 7 October 2026. Based on Czech Act No. 424/2023 Coll., Directive (EU) 2019/882 (EAA) and Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. An informative readiness check, not a legal service or an official audit. Original: česká verze.

If you run a small online shop and hear about the accessibility obligations that have applied since 28 June 2025, the first question is a natural one: “Does this apply to me too?” The answer depends on two figures – the number of employees and turnover. Act No. 424/2023 Coll., which transposes Directive (EU) 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act, EAA) into Czech law, fully exempts microenterprises providing services from all accessibility obligations. The exemption is absolute – it requires no assessment of disproportionate burden and no notification to the supervisory authority. It does, however, have precise conditions and a way of documenting them in the event of an inspection.

This article tells you precisely who qualifies for the exemption, how employees and turnover are counted (including linked companies), what to keep on file and what happens when you outgrow the conditions.

General information, not individual legal advice. To assess the specific situation of your company, we recommend consulting an expert, or use the quick check.

What applies with certainty: the definition of a microenterprise and the scope of the exemption

The microenterprise exemption is laid down directly in the Act and is unconditional – if you meet both thresholds, the EAA does not apply to you as a service provider at all.

Under Section 2(3)(a) and Section 3(1)(p) of Act No. 424/2023 Coll. (in line with Article 4(5) of the Directive), a microenterprise is defined by reference to Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. There are two conditions and they must be met at the same time:

1. Fewer than 10 persons – counted in annual work units (AWU), i.e. in full-time equivalents. Under Article 5 of Annex I, the headcount includes not only employees but also owner-managers and partners engaging in a regular activity in the enterprise and benefiting from financial advantages from the enterprise. Conversely, apprentices and students under a vocational training contract are not counted, and the duration of maternity or parental leave is not counted.
2. The annual turnover or the annual balance sheet total does not exceed €2 million – it is enough to meet one of these two indicators; it is not necessary to meet both.

The condition is “fewer than 10” – an enterprise with exactly 10 persons does not have the exemption. The decisive data are those for the last approved accounting period, and turnover is calculated excluding VAT and other indirect taxes (Article 4(1) of Annex I). For newly established enterprises that do not yet have approved financial statements, a bona fide estimate made in the course of the financial year is used (Article 4(3) of Annex I). To determine whether you are a microenterprise, Czech currency is converted into euros at the foreign exchange market rate announced by the Czech National Bank (ČNB) for the balance sheet date (Section 27(1) of the Act).

What the exemption covers and what it does not

The exemption applies exclusively to service providers. An online shop is an “e-commerce service” under Section 3(1)(i) of the Act – so as an online shop operator you can qualify for this exemption. The same applies to the online shop's mobile application, which is expressly included in the definition of e-commerce (Section 3(1)(i) of the Act; Article 3, point 30 of the Directive).

The exemption does not apply to products. If you sell or distribute products covered by the EAA (for example laptops, smartphones, tablets, e-book readers or payment terminals), the obligations of the manufacturer, importer or distributor remain regardless of the size of the enterprise (Articles 7, 9, 10 and 11 of the Directive; Sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of the Act). For products, the Act gives a microenterprise relief on only two points: it does not have to submit the assessment of fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden to the supervisory authority, and it does not have to notify it in advance of failure to meet the requirements; it must, however, keep the assessment and the supporting documents for 5 years (Section 15(3) and (7) of the Act).

Example: You run a fashion online shop, have 6 full-time employees and an annual turnover of €1.5 million. You meet both conditions – the exemption applies and the EAA does not apply to your online shop. If, however, you also sell payment terminals under your own brand, you are in the position of a manufacturer for that product line, and the accessibility obligations for products will still apply to you.

How employees and turnover are correctly counted

The biggest trap of the exemption lies not in the thresholds themselves but in the aggregation rules – linked and partner enterprises are included in the calculation, either in full or proportionally.

The definition of a microenterprise in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 distinguishes three types of enterprise:

• Autonomous enterprise – no other entity holds 25% or more, and you yourself do not hold such a share in another enterprise. You count only your own persons and turnover.
• Partner enterprise – another entity holds 25% or more of the capital or voting rights without being a linked enterprise. You add a proportional part of the persons and financial indicators according to the percentage holding in the capital or voting rights, whichever of the two is higher (Article 6(2) of Annex I).
• Linked enterprise – one enterprise holds a majority of the voting rights in the other, has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of its administrative, management or supervisory body, exercises a dominant influence over it pursuant to a contract or its articles of association, or controls a majority of the voting rights pursuant to an agreement with the other shareholders (Article 3(3) of Annex I). You add 100% of the persons and financial indicators.

An exception that is often forgotten: reaching or exceeding the 25% threshold by certain investors does not create a partner relationship, and the enterprise remains autonomous – these are public investment corporations, venture capital companies and so-called business angels (business angels only provided their total investment in the same enterprise is less than €1,250,000); universities and non-profit research centres; institutional investors, including regional development funds; and autonomous local authorities with an annual budget of less than €10 million and fewer than 5,000 inhabitants (Article 3(2), second subparagraph, of Annex I). The condition is that these investors are not linked to the enterprise.

Example – linked enterprise: Your online shop has 4 employees and a turnover of €0.8 million. The parent company holds a stake exceeding 50% and has 40 employees and a turnover of €8 million. This is a linked enterprise – the total number of employees is 44 and the turnover €8.8 million. The microenterprise exemption does not apply.

Example – partner enterprise: Your online shop has 4 employees and a turnover of €0.8 million. An investor holds a 25% stake; its company has 12 employees and a turnover of €1.5 million. You add 25% of the 12 employees (3) and 25% of €1.5 million (€0.375 million). Total: 7 persons and a turnover of €1.175 million. The exemption applies. Beware of the reverse case: if those 25% were held by a business angel with a total investment below €1,250,000, it would not be a partner enterprise at all and nothing would be added.

This aggregation rule is expressly referred to in the Act (Section 3(1)(p), by reference to Annex I to Regulation No 651/2014) and is the most common source of errors when assessing the exemption.

How to document the exemption: what to prepare

The Act does not require microenterprises to notify the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (ČOI) of the exemption or to draw up a formal assessment – but being able to document it is in your own interest, not just a formality.

The microenterprise exemption differs fundamentally from the disproportionate burden exemption (Section 15 of the Act), for which the Act expressly requires drawing up an assessment, keeping it for 5 years and notifying the ČOI of the use of the exemption before starting to provide the service (Section 15(5) of the Act). None of this applies to a microenterprise – it is a complete exclusion from the scope of the Act.

Even so, prepare these documents:

• An extract from the financial statements for the last closed accounting period – it documents turnover or the balance sheet total.
• An overview of employees (full-time equivalents) as at the decisive date – an internal payroll overview or an extract from the system.
• An overview of the ownership structure – who holds what stake, with the date and the size of the stake. If there are partner or linked enterprises, add their basic financial indicators.
• A brief internal record – a one-page document in which you summarise the calculation and the conclusion: “As at date X, we meet the conditions of a microenterprise under Annex I to Regulation 651/2014.”

This set of documents will allow you, in the event of a ČOI inspection (Section 19(2) of the Act), to show quickly why you have not taken accessibility measures. The ČOI may impose a fine of up to CZK 10,000,000 for failing to meet the accessibility obligations (Section 25(7)(a), (b) and (l) in conjunction with Section 25(8)(a) of the Act) – and if you cannot document the exemption, you will be in a disadvantageous position.

What happens when you outgrow the conditions

Microenterprise status is not lost in the first year the threshold is exceeded – Annex I to Regulation 651/2014 has its own two-year rule for this.

Article 4(2) of Annex I literally provides that if, at the date of the accounts closure, an enterprise finds that it has exceeded the thresholds under Article 2, “this will not result in the loss or acquisition of the status of medium-sized, small or micro-enterprise unless those thresholds are exceeded over two consecutive accounting periods”. Because Act No. 424/2023 Coll. defines a microenterprise by reference precisely to this annex (Section 3(1)(p)), its calculation methodology also applies.

In practice this means two things. First: a single exceptional year will not cost you microenterprise status. Second – and more importantly – the rule works in both directions, so you will not get back below the threshold with a single weaker year either. The exemption ends only when the threshold is exceeded (10 or more persons, or turnover and balance sheet total above €2 million) in two consecutive accounting periods.

In practice this means: if you hire a tenth employee during the year, start preparing to meet the accessibility requirements even before the situation becomes permanent. The accessibility requirements for the website and the application (POUR – perceivable, operable, understandable, robust; Annex 1, Section III, point 3 of the Act) and the information obligation in the general terms and conditions (Section 14(1) to (4) of the Act) are not a matter of a single day.

Decision guide:

• If you are clearly below both thresholds and have no linked or partner enterprises – the exemption applies; prepare the documentation and check the situation once a year.
• If you are close to the threshold or have a complicated ownership structure – check the calculation with an accountant or lawyer without delay. The date of 28 June 2025 has already passed, so any non-compliance has been running since then.
• If you have outgrown the exemption or are not sure – start preparing for accessibility as soon as possible, because the obligations apply to services provided after 28 June 2025 (Section 28(2) of the Act).

What the exemption does not solve: areas outside its reach

The microenterprise exemption protects you from the EAA obligations, but it does not relieve you of other obligations and does not apply in all situations.

Specifically:

• A purely B2B online shop is not subject to the EAA at all – regardless of the size of the enterprise (Section 2(2) of the Act). If you sell exclusively to companies, the microenterprise exemption is irrelevant to you, because the EAA does not apply to you for a different reason.
• A presentational website without an e-commerce function is not subject to the EAA either (Section 2(2) of the Act). If, however, the website has a basket and a payment gateway, it is an e-commerce service and the EAA applies – unless you are a microenterprise.
• Mobile applications of an online shop are expressly included in the definition of e-commerce (Section 3(1)(i) of the Act). The microenterprise exemption also applies to them – but only if you meet both thresholds.
• Products subject to the EAA (terminals, readers, kiosks): the exemption does not apply. The obligations of the manufacturer, importer or distributor continue in full regardless of the size of the company (Sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of the Act).

30/60/90-day action plan

Goal: within 30 days, know whether the exemption applies; within 60 days, have the documentation; within 90 days, have a plan in case of growth.

Within 30 days:

1. Determine the exact number of employees in full-time equivalents for the last closed accounting period.
2. Determine the annual turnover and the balance sheet total for the same period.
3. Map the ownership structure – who holds what stake in your company and in which companies you hold a stake.
4. Determine whether there are partner enterprises (holding of 25% or more) or linked enterprises.
5. Carry out the calculation under Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 – on your own or with an accountant.

Within 60 days:

1. Draw up an internal record of meeting the microenterprise conditions, with the date and the signature of the responsible person.
2. Attach copies of the relevant pages of the financial statements and the overview of employees.
3. Store the documentation in a safe place – we recommend at least 5 years (by analogy with the rules for the disproportionate burden exemption).
4. If you are not sure about the calculation or the ownership structure, use the quick check.

Within 90 days:

1. Set up an internal alert for when you are approaching the threshold – hiring new employees, turnover growth.
2. Prepare a basic overview of what making your online shop accessible would involve – so that you know what awaits you if you outgrow the exemption.
3. Check whether you sell products subject to the EAA (terminals, readers, kiosks) – the exemption does not apply to them, and the obligations of the manufacturer or distributor apply regardless of the size of the enterprise.

Common misconceptions

Misconception 1: “I have 8 employees, so I am a microenterprise and the exemption applies automatically.”

It does not apply automatically. You must meet both conditions at the same time – the headcount and the financial threshold. And partner and linked enterprises are included in the calculation. A company with 8 employees whose parent company has significantly more employees does not have the exemption.

Misconception 2: “The microenterprise exemption works the same way as the disproportionate burden exemption – I have to notify the ČOI of it.”

These are two completely different exemptions. The disproportionate burden exemption (Section 15 of the Act) requires drawing up an assessment, keeping it and notifying the ČOI before starting to provide the service (Section 15(5) of the Act). The microenterprise exemption (Section 2(3)(a) of the Act) requires none of this – it is a complete exclusion from the scope of the Act.

Misconception 3: “The microenterprise exemption also applies to the products I sell.”

It does not. The exemption applies exclusively to service providers. If you sell or distribute products subject to the EAA (for example payment terminals or self-service kiosks), the obligations of the manufacturer, importer or distributor continue in full regardless of the size of the enterprise (Sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of the Act).

Summary

The EAA microenterprise exemption is absolute – if you meet both conditions (fewer than 10 persons and no more than €2 million in at least one of the indicators – annual turnover or annual balance sheet total), Act No. 424/2023 Coll. does not apply to you as a provider of an e-commerce service at all. It requires no notification or formal assessment. The key is to calculate the thresholds correctly, including partner enterprises (holding of 25% or more) and linked enterprises, and to have internal documentation ready in case of a ČOI inspection. The exemption does not apply to products – there, the full obligations apply regardless of the size of the company. And as soon as you outgrow the thresholds in two consecutive accounting periods, microenterprise status ends and the accessibility obligations kick in.

This article is a general explanation, not individual legal advice. A specific overview for your company (Pravano Kompas) comes with the free check – in writing, within 2 working days.