Restarting a closed sole trader: step by step
If you closed your sole trader and want to work again, you don't need a new one: you file a reinicio de actividades. What the procedure is, when and how to do it, and what you need — with official sources.
You closed your business back then and now you want to bill again. The good news: you don't have to start from scratch. There's the reinicio de actividades (activity restart), which reactivates your closed sole trader with BPS-DGI. Here's how it works.
What is the activity restart?
It's the procedure by which you tell the Tax Administration you're operating again with a business that was closed. DGI defines it as:
DGI describes it as:
«Es el trámite mediante el cual se cumple con la obligación formal de comunicar a la Administración Tributaria el reinicio de una empresa con actividad de Industria y Comercio o Servicios Personales no Profesionales, que se encuentra en estado clausurado en BPS-DGI.»
In English: It is the procedure by which the formal obligation is met to notify the Tax Administration of the restart of a company with Industry and Commerce or Non-Professional Personal Services activity that is in a closed state in BPS-DGI.
DGI — Restart of a sole-trader companyhttps://www.gub.uy/direccion-general-impositiva/comunicacion/publicaciones/reinicio-empresa-unipersonalWhen and how it's filed
If you do it within the month you restart, it's handled online through the BPS portal. If it's outside the current month, you book a day and time on DGI's web scheduler and attend with the documentation. Generally you can file it up to a few days before the restart. See the official procedure:
DGI — Restart of sole-trader activitieshttps://www.gub.uy/tramites/reinicio-actividades-unipersonalesWhat you need to bring
- The company registration and update form (F. 0351), legible and without erasures.
- If there's more than one owner, the fictitious-salary declaration (F. R205).
- A recent UTE, OSE or ANTEL invoice (no older than 60 days) in the owner's name and with the declared fiscal address.
Inactivity and closure aren't the same
A “closed” company wound down its obligations; one in “inactividad” is still registered but without activity. The restart applies to the closed state. If you just went a while without billing, first check what state you're in with DGI-BPS to file the right procedure.
In short: returning to work with a closed sole trader is done via the reinicio de actividades with BPS-DGI, with a couple of forms and a recent utility invoice. Do it on time and verify your state. The first time, your accountant speeds it up.