If you are thinking of owing a company or a business in Nigeria? Or you already have one? Does it have a name? Of course, it should have a name, but is it recognized? before a business name can be recognised, it must first of all be registered . Registering a company simply means telling the government that your business or business name is yours and that you exit, you can then be regarded as a legal entity, this gives credibility to your company, enhance its visibility and helps to boost its profile. The registration process is really simple. This article –“how to register your business with CAC in Nigeria” is written to help you go about it as simple as possible. The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of Nigeria is saddled with the responsibility of registering companies in Nigeria. Companies and Allied Matters Act established the CAC, in 1990 it was promulgated to regulate the formation and management of companies in Nigeria. The commission has its corporate headquarters located at Abuja (the Federal Capital Territory) with branches in various state capitals of Nigeria like Kano, Lagos, Benin, Owerri, Jos, Enugu, Uyo and many others. The process of registering a business in Nigeria through the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) usually take days, but the commission hopes to reduce the time spent to register a company in Nigeria to 24 hours by December 2018. Generally, the requirements needed to register a company in Nigeria will largely depend on the type of business. So how can you register your company with CAC? This following will guide you on how to register your business with CAC in Nigeria, list of documents to upload for CAC business name, CAC registration fees, and CAC portal for registration.
Choosing a name for your business is definitely the first thing to do. The process involves choosing a suitable name for your business. Usually, you are required to submit two names in case if one is already in use, the other can be adopted. The names could be rejected if: it already exists, is confusing, or includes prohibited words such as National, Federal, Government, or Holdings. So, to avoid all of these; you should search for the availability of your chosen names. You should visit a CAC office nearest to you and request for name reservation or name availability check. You can also carry out this process online by visiting the CAC official website to download the CAC1.1 for free. If your chosen name is not in use, it will be reserved for you in 90 days within which you are expected to complete your registration.
You will be required to prepare a memorandum and article of association, depending on the type of company you want to register. You will need a lawyer for this stage that will be responsible for preparing these documents. He will request for the names of the first directors who are also the initial subscribers as well as the names of shareholders. All directors or subscribers must be above age 18, must be crime free and be of a sound mind. All directors/subscribers will be required to provide a valid means of identification for inspection by the CAC.
Filling a form from CAC is the next step involved in registering your company with CAC iwhich you are supposed to submit on completion along with other documents.You will need a secretary from this point who can either be a lawyer or an accountant and will be responsible for filling of documents with CAC after the company has been registered.You should take note of the following when filling forms.
All directors must fill the Particulars of Director form also known as the Form CAC 7
A director will fill the statement of share capital and return of Allotment Form( Form CAC 2)
A director and the company secretary will fill the notice of situation/change of registered address form ( CAC 3)
An individual or a firm accredited by CAC will fill the Declaration of Compliance with the requirements of CAMA Form (known as the Form CAC 4)
At least two directors will fill the form appointing a company secretary for the company
The stamp duty is normally paid at a designated bank into the account of Federal Inland Revenue Services; and this is done after the purchase of the incorporation forms and filling of same followed by preparation of memorandum and articles of association. After paying for the stamp duty, you are expected to proceed to the Stamp Duty Commission where the memorandum and article of association and all other documents of incorporation will be stamped. You may then proceed to submit all these to CAC which will in turn have your Certificate of Incorporation ready in say six to seven weeks after submission.
Here are some of CAC registration requirement
The proposed name of the business
The proposed objectives of the business
The business memorandum and articles of association
Statement of the authorized share capital
Form CAC 1, reservation and availability of name
The names and addresses of the parties (directors) incorporating the company
Two recent passport photographs of each director, including valid means of identification
Statutory declaration of compliance by a legal practitioner
The name and address of the company secretary
The address of the business principal office
Fillings with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for tax purposes
All other documents or fees that may be required by the commission to satisfy any law or condition
How Much Does it Cost to Register a Business Name in Nigeria? Registration of a private company with a share capital of more than N1m and up to N500m costs N5,000 for every 1m shares of the company. Private company registration above N500m authorized share capital costs N7,500 for every 1m shares of the company.