Technology giant Google has been delinquent on its tax payments in France for the past few years, to the tune of more than $1 billion in missed payments, and it now may be hit with a sizable tax penalty by the French government.

Google has been put on notice of its delinquency by the French tax authorities, and the company has acknowledged that it might be issued a large penalty for non-compliance by the French Direction Générale Des Finances Publiques, the French equivalent of the US Internal Revenue Service.

In a Google earnings report filed for the quarterly period ending March 31, 2014, the company confirmed that France has started pressuring the company as a result of what the French government sees as Google’s evasive tax practices within the country over the past several years.

“In March 2014, we received a tax assessment from the French tax authorities,” the company wrote in its earning report. “We believe an adequate provision has been made and it is more likely than not that our tax position will be sustained. However, it is reasonably possible that resolution with the French tax authorities could result in an adjustment to our tax position."

Google reports a much larger level of revenue in Ireland (€12.4 billion) than the relatively small figure in France (€138 million), according to TechCrunch. This is despite what appears to be a quite large corporate presence in France, as judging by information related to Google’s Paris office. Unsurprisingly, Ireland has a much lower corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent.

While Google has maintained that the company has operated in compliance with French law, it looks as though the French government has begun to crack down on what it believes is Google’s technique of passing off French contracts as if they were Irish ones in order to be subject to a lower tax rate.

Ireland has long been a favorite spot for Silicon Valley tax loopholes, one of which has been termed the "Double Irish."

Google did not immediately respond for comment on Friday morning.