Accessibility statement – Åland Tax Border Declaration Service (ALA)

Finnish Customs aims to guarantee the accessibility of its websites and online services in accordance with the Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019).

This accessibility statement applies to the Åland Tax Border Declaration Service (ALA).

Alternative service channels

If you are unable to use the ALA service, you can submit a tax border declaration at a customer service location of Finnish Customs. You can view customer service locations on a map and the opening hours of customs offices on the website of Finnish Customs.

You can also submit a declaration with a summary declaration form by email to the address atp.skattegrans@tulli.fi.

For help with using the alternative services, please contact the Åland Islands tax border information service, tel. +358 (0)295 52 333 or the customs information service, tel. +358 (0)295 5201.

See instructions for other service alternatives.

You can also authorise an agent, such as a forwarding company, or another person to submit a tax border declaration on your behalf.

Accessibility of the service

The accessibility of the service does not fulfil the requirements laid down in the Act on the Provision of Digital Services.

Accessibility was tested in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Identified accessibility issues

Identified accessibility issues in the service are listed below. If you identify any issue in the use of the service that is not listed below, please contact us.

The following content does not fulfil the requirements laid down in the Act on the Provision of Digital Services. These accessibility issues will be corrected.

  • Keyboard focus is not clearly visible in some essential user interface components. In addition, keyboard focus disappears occasionally in the hidden button element at the beginning of the form. (WCAG 2.4.7)
  • It is nearly impossible to focus on field-specific help texts with keyboard commands, because the help texts change depending on the field. (WCAG 2.1.1)
  • Help texts are very difficult to identify or use with a screen reader. Help texts are not read automatically together with related fields. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • Since the overall structure is confusing, the two separate in-page navigation trails be confusing to those navigating with a screen reader. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • If the declaration is not processed within a specific time, the system stops the processing without giving any separate warning. As a result, information may be misplaced, and users may become frustrated. (WCAG 2.2.1)
  • All pages have the same header. This may confuse users of screen readers, as the service loads several pages that always move focus to the top of the page. (WCAG 2.4.2)
  • No information about errors in forms is provided to screen readers without the user having to move the focus indicator. Even if mandatory information is missing from a form, the summary page is empty, and no warning is given to the user. (WCAG 4.1.3 and 3.3.1)
  • Screen readers read visually hidden repetitive buttons, which may be confusing for users. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • There is only a slight difference in the markings for mandatory fields (asterisk) and conditionally mandatory fields (asterisk in brackets). These are practically impossible to separate from one another visually and when using a screen reader. (WCAG 1.3.1 and 3.3.2)

Making the following content accessible would be a disproportionate burden for the service provider because the service will be replaced with a new service in 2021.

  • Contrast  
    • The contrast ratio of the text and the background is insufficient. (WCAG 1.4.3)
    • The contrast ratio of the buttons in the ‘Ohje’ window and the arrows in the window displaying the phase is insufficient against the background. (WCAG 1.4.11)
  • Help texts
    • Field-specific help texts may be difficult to identify when resizing the content because they are presented in a floating help text element (WCAG 1.4.4, 1.4.10)
    • Some help texts are unclear. (WCAG 3.3.2)
  • There are deficiencies in alternative texts of visual elements due to which users of screen readers obtain no information about them. (WCAG 1.1.1)
  • The service does not include a jump to content link. This means that people navigating with a keyboard must go through all the links in the top navigation bar and the menu on each page before they can access the main content of the page. (WCAG 2.4.1)
  • The main menu of the service has not been programmatically determined as a menu, so screen readers cannot identify it as a menu. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • Links that open in a new browser tab or window or open files have not been properly marked. (WCAG 2.4.4)
  • There are structural deficiencies in the HTML code that may affect the accessibility of the service. (WCAG 4.1.1)
  • The ‘Ohje’, ‘Järjestelmätiedotteet’ and ‘Puhelinpalvelu’ texts have not been defined as HTML headers. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • Because the language of language version links has not been defined, a screen reader usually mispronounces them using the rules of an incorrect language. (WCAG 3.1.2)
  • No purposes have been for form fields defined. Browsers use the information to define how to autocomplete the fields or offer the correct keyboard. (WCAG 1.3.5)
  • The forms in the service include some fields with two parts (e.g. city of a post address) for which the label is only determined for the first part and the second part only has a title attribute (WCAG 1.3.1, 3.3.2)
  • Calendar elements cannot be accessed with a keyboard. (WCAG 2.1.1)
  • At parts, the layout of pages has been implemented with line breaks (<br>), which a screen reader will read as empty. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • Users of screen readers do not receive any feedback on the completion of functions without moving the focus indicator. (WCAG 4.1.3)
  • No information is given at the different stages of the in-page navigation trail on which stage is currently selected. (WCAG 2.4.4, 4.1.2)
  • Summary tables do not have row headlines defined. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • The declaration page has a few link elements with no visible headers. The links cannot be used, but a screen reader will detect them. (WCAG 1.1.1, 1.3.1)
  • Users of screen readers do not obtain any information about the column according to which search results have been sorted. (WCAG 4.1.2)
  • ‘Käyttöohjeet sivu’ page
    • The title attribute, language and sub-headers of the ‘Käyttöohjeet’ page have not been defined in a manner that would allow screen readers to read the information correctly. (WCAG 1.3.1, 2.4.2, 3.1.1)
    • The texts of links that open files are missing information on the file’s type. (WCAG 2.4.4)

Preparing the statement

Finnish Customs has tested the accessibility of the service as follows:

  • Accessibility was tested by an external party.
  • The service was tested in March 2019.
  • The statement was prepared on 17 September 2020.
  • The statement was last reviewed on 15 February 2022.

Feedback

We are happy to receive feedback on the accessibility of this service.

  • Please send your accessibility feedback to Finnish Customs by emailing asiakaspalautteet@tulli.fi
  • The declaration department of Finnish Customs is responsible for the accessibility of the Åland Tax Border Declaration Service (ALA), and it also responds to feedback given on accessibility.
  • We aim to respond to feedback in five working days.
  • If you are dissatisfied with the response received from Finnish Customs, you can also send feedback on the accessibility of the service to the Regional State Administrative Agency (saavutettavuus@avi.fi).