The general application date of the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is **2 August 2026**. But the timeline is not a single date, and it **changed with Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the Digital Omnibus.**
What the timeline looks like today
Chapters I and II — prohibited practices and AI literacy — have applied since **2 February 2025**. General-purpose AI and governance provisions started on **2 August 2025**.
The Digital Omnibus **delayed the high-risk obligations**: to **2 December 2027** for high-risk systems under Annex III, and to **2 August 2028** for the Annex I product-safety track.
A delay is not a reprieve
The same amendment added **two new prohibitions** to Article 5 — points (ba) and (bb) — applying from **2 December 2026**. Prohibitions are the sharpest end of the regulation: they are not a matter of documenting and placing on the market, they are practices that **must not happen**.
With these additions Article 5 now lists **10** prohibited practices. A transitional period for the marking duty under Article 50(2) also begins on the same date.
Order matters: prohibition first, class second
The correct sequence is: (1) does the system fall under a **prohibited practice**? (2) if not, is it **high-risk**? Annex III lists **8** areas — biometrics, critical infrastructure, education, employment, access to essential services, law enforcement, migration and border control, administration of justice. (3) if not high-risk, does a transparency obligation apply?
Skipping this order produces the most expensive mistake: treating a prohibited practice as "high-risk" and trying to document it. A prohibited practice cannot be legitimised through documentation.
The high-risk documentation load
For a high-risk system, Annex IV lists **9 elements** that the technical documentation must contain: a general description of the system, the development process, monitoring and control, risk management and more. The delay does not remove this load; it moves the start date.
How Nechh Eco-Report handles it
The Eco-Report AI Act module asks about prohibited practice, high-risk and transparency classification in that order and produces the Annex IV technical file list. The amendment chain (2026/1744) is tracked by machine; when a question is unanswered the module does not guess, it says "cannot decide". Eco-Report is a preparation tool; it does not replace a conformity assessment.
Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus), EUR-Lex.
Publication note: This content is general information; it is not legal advice, a conformity assessment or a company-specific compliance evaluation. The final determination rests on the official text and, where needed, legal advice.