diff --git a/internal/component/loki/source/file/internal/tail/file.go b/internal/component/loki/source/file/internal/tail/file.go
index 058998cf49c..3ed2f91683e 100644
--- a/internal/component/loki/source/file/internal/tail/file.go
+++ b/internal/component/loki/source/file/internal/tail/file.go
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ func NewFile(logger log.Logger, cfg *Config) (*File, error) {
 
 	encoding, err := getEncoding(cfg.Encoding)
 	if err != nil {
+		f.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}