Following penalties applies against your VAT obligation if you are registered as a self employed in Germany:
Cause | Penalty |
Late registration | Discretion of tax office |
Late filing | Up to 10% of VAT amount with max of EUR 25000 |
Late payment | 1% interest per month after the due date, after 16 months of the due date, an additional 0.5% interest will be added |
EU Sales List not filled on time | 1% fixed penalty of the non-reported amount upto max of EUR 25000 |
Tax office takes a discretion over imposing a fine in case of tax fraud and evasion and hefty penalties are imposed.