Article 8 — Penalties

1. Member States shall provide for effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for failure to comply with Articles 3, 4 or 5. 2. The maximum penalty for legal persons shall be at least: (a) 3,5 % of the undertaking’s total worldwide annual turnover for the preceding financial year, (b) EUR 40 million, or (c) 300 % of the estimated transaction turnover, which shall be calculated on the basis of the volume of the natural gas involved and the day-ahead contract prices on the TTF market. The maximum penalty for natural persons shall be at least EUR 2,5 million. 3. Where the legal system of a Member State does not provide competent authorities with the competence to independently impose administrative fines, this Article may be applied in such a manner that the fining procedure is initiated by the competent authority and the fine is imposed by the competent national court, while ensuring that those legal remedies are effective and have an effect equivalent to the administrative fines imposed by supervisory authorities. In any event, the fines imposed shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. 4. Member States shall, by 4 February 2028, notify the Commission of the national provisions in force ensuring the implementation of this Article, and shall notify it, without delay, of any subsequent amendment affecting them.