Late Tax Registration: What You Need to Know

Modified on Wed, 16 Apr at 7:50 PM

If you’re selling goods or services across borders—whether you run an ecommerce store, a SaaS business, or sell digital products—you may have crossed local tax registration thresholds before becoming compliant. This is common and can be resolved.

Here’s what to expect if your registration is late, what steps we’ll take to help, and why it’s important to act sooner rather than later.

What We’ll Need From You

To assess your situation and begin the registration process, we’ll ask you for:

Your past and projected turnover
Your sales history by jurisdiction

If you store inventory locally (for example, in an Amazon FBA warehouse), we’ll also review when that began, as physical presence may trigger earlier tax obligations in certain countries.

Using this information, we’ll determine when you likely became liable to register and what steps are required to become compliant.

What Happens If Registration Is Late

If it turns out you should have registered earlier, here’s what that typically means:

Corrective Returns Will Be Needed. You’ll need to file tax returns for past periods to report the sales made before registration.
Back Taxes Are Due. You’re liable for tax on all sales made after crossing the threshold—or from the point of having a taxable presence in a country.
Penalties and Interest May Apply. Tax authorities may charge penalties and interest on unpaid taxes. This varies by country.
Audit Risk Increases. Late registration can increase the likelihood of a tax audit or review by local authorities.
Additional Service Fees Apply. We charge additional fees for preparing and submitting corrective returns.

Why It’s Important to Address This Promptly

We strongly recommend resolving past tax obligations as soon as possible. Here’s why:

Tax authorities often apply higher penalties when non-compliance is discovered during an audit
They may extend the lookback period, increasing how far back you owe taxes
In more serious cases, they may treat it as tax evasion and pursue legal consequences

Acting now helps you stay in control and reduces the risk of future problems.

A Note on US Sales Tax

If your late registration involves US sales tax, we may follow a different process using Voluntary Disclosure Agreements (VDAs). These can help reduce penalties and limit audit exposure. Reach out to our team to learn more.