diff --git a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
index 3b3d35f451..324811aed6 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (starting after version `3.27.0`).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
+### Fixed
+* If the `base` plugin has already been applied, then there is no need for configuration of the `clean` task to trigger configuration of the Spotless tasks ([#1068](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1068)).
 ### Changed
 * Bumped default DiKTat from `0.4.0` to `1.0.1`. This is a breaking change for DiKTat users on the default version, because some rules were renamed/changed. Check [DiKTat changelog](https://github.com/analysis-dev/diktat/releases) for details.
 
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java
index b6a8c108ca..7b9e61eb03 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java
+++ b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2016-2021 DiffPlug
+ * Copyright 2016-2022 DiffPlug
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -63,7 +63,13 @@ static void configureCleanTask(Project project, Consumer<Delete> onClean) {
 
 	/** clean removes the SpotlessCache, so we have to run after clean. */
 	static void taskMustRunAfterClean(Project project, TaskProvider<?> task) {
-		configureCleanTask(project, clean -> task.get().mustRunAfter(clean));
+		if (project.getPlugins().hasPlugin(BasePlugin.class)) {
+			// if we know that the clean task is around, then we can configure lazily
+			task.configure(t -> t.mustRunAfter(BasePlugin.CLEAN_TASK_NAME));
+		} else {
+			// otherwise, we trigger configuration when the clean task gets configured
+			configureCleanTask(project, clean -> task.get().mustRunAfter(clean));
+		}
 	}
 
 	static String capitalize(String input) {