Non-compliance with the EU AI Act can cost up to EUR 35 million or 7 percent of global annual turnover — higher than GDPR's 4 percent cap.
Last updated April 21, 2026 · Every fact traceable to a public source
The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) sets a three-tier fine structure based on the severity of the violation. Maximum penalties are higher than GDPR's for the most severe category. Enforcement timelines began in February 2025 for prohibited-practices rules, with most remaining obligations applying from August 2026.
For violations of the prohibited-AI-practices rules in Article 5, fines can reach EUR 35 million or 7 percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover from the preceding financial year — whichever is higher. This is higher than GDPR's maximum (EUR 20 million or 4 percent).
Tier 2 covers most other obligations (high-risk system requirements, transparency obligations, etc.) and caps at EUR 15 million or 3 percent of worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. Tier 3 covers supplying incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information to authorities and caps at EUR 7.5 million or 1 percent of worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher.
Yes. For SMEs (including startups), the cap is reversed: fines are capped at whichever is LOWER of the percentage or the absolute amount. This is designed to avoid disproportionate penalties on small firms with low turnover.
Prohibited-practices rules (Article 5) began applying on 2 February 2025. General-purpose AI model obligations apply from 2 August 2025. Most high-risk AI system obligations apply from 2 August 2026. Some obligations for AI embedded in already-regulated products apply from 2 August 2027.
Each Member State designates one or more market-surveillance authorities plus a notifying authority for conformity-assessment bodies. At the EU level, the AI Office (part of the European Commission) oversees general-purpose AI models, supports the AI Board, and issues guidance.
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