Chapter XII of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act) establishes the bloc's penalty framework for AI-related infringements, with the most consequential provisions becoming enforceable on 2 August 2026. Article 99 requires Member States to lay down "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" penalties for operators and sets harmonised upper limits: non-compliance with the Article 5 prohibition of certain AI practices can attract administrative fines of up to EUR 35 000 000 or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher; breaches of other obligations on providers, importers, distributors, deployers, authorised representatives, notified bodies and the Article 50 transparency duties are capped at EUR 15 000 000 or 3% of turnover; and supplying incorrect, incomplete or misleading information to authorities is capped at EUR 7 500 000 or 1% of turnover. For SMEs and start-ups, the lower of the percentage or the absolute amount applies, and regulators must weigh factors such as gravity, duration, cooperation, intent and remediation. Article 101 empowers the European Commission to fine providers of general-purpose AI models up to EUR 15 000 000 or 3% of annual worldwide turnover, whichever is higher, for intentional or negligent infringements, failure to comply with Article 91 information requests, failure to act on Article 93 measures, or refusing model access for Article 92 evaluations. Decisions are subject to unlimited review by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
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