I've been selling used clothes and handmade crafts on Instagram for about 8 months now, nothing formal. A friend told me that's illegal without a license or something like that. Can I get fined if inspectors find out? How much would the penalty be?
Which autonomous community are you in? Because the penalties vary quite a bit depending on where you live, and that matters for me to give you a more accurate answer.
That said, yes, technically you're in a legal gray area. If you're selling regularly on Instagram without being registered as self-employed or as a business, you're breaking tax obligations (not declaring income) and possibly consumer protection regulations. The fines can range from hundreds to thousands of euros depending on the region and how long you've been doing it. Most likely it starts with an inspection, a warning, and an order to regularize your situation; but if it turns out you've been operating for months without declaring anything, the penalties can be more serious.
What I'd recommend is that you talk to a tax advisor or an accounting firm - many offer free initial consultations - to see if it makes sense for you to register as self-employed. The process isn't complicated and you save yourself headaches. If the amounts you're moving are small, there might be more streamlined options to regularize, but that depends on your specific situation. Either way, it's better to sort it out yourself now than to wait for someone to knock on your door.
Don't get caught without papers because the fine can be brutal: anywhere from 300-600 euros up to thousands depending on whether the tax office or municipal inspection catches you, and on top of that they can force you to regularize everything retroactively. What most people won't tell you is that if you open a seller account on platforms like Vinted or Wallapop (which have their own policies but are more legally transparent), you get an automatic registration that covers you way better than selling directly on Instagram without leaving a formal trail. The point is that with that history of money movements, even if it's small amounts, the tax office will eventually spot it; better they find you with some minimal structure already in place than with nothing at all. Check with the Chamber of Commerce or a local advisor: many of them offer a free first consultation and can tell you exactly what you need in your area (sometimes it's just registering as self-employed and you're done).
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