Registering a company in Nigeria was once a tedious and stressful process. The federal body responsible for the registration of companies and businesses in Nigeria is Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Before now the registration of company was done manually and you must be present in their offices to start and complete the process. The process can take the duration of one to two months with lots of going and coming as a result of query.
The requirements on the other hand were as cumbersome as one can imagine, you must get the directors to sign manually, imagine when you are registering a company for someone who is abroad? Your guess is as good as mine.
Many dreaded registrations of companies in Nigeria because of the above cited shortcomings. God came to our rescue!
Corporate Affairs Commission introduced “ease of doing business in Nigeria” by relaxing some of the cumbersome procedures and introduced online registration where you can sit at the comfort of your home or office and register a company without visiting their office. The Incorporation certificates can equally be downloaded online as many times as you wish within 7 days of approval
The advent of Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA) now added more cream to the cone! One of the innovations that came with the CAMA is the introduction of Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). Another one is the introduction of sole Directorship and shareholder meaning that one person can be a director of a Limited Liability Company as well as one shareholder.
The most suitable form of incorporation for persons seeking to start a business in Nigeria is a private company limited by shares. However, foreigners seeking to commence a business in Nigeria must register a company, which is not less than N10 Million authorized share capital.
Read also: How to start / register a Security company in Nigeria
Guidelines to Registration of Company in Nigeria
In registering your business or company with CAC the following information must be handy
- Proposed name to be searched (before now it used to be two (2) names but now you can submit only one (1) name for name search)
- The address of the proposed company
- Email and phone number of the proposed company
- Forms of identification such as National Identity Cards, International Passports, Driver’s licenses, Permanent Voters Card and Birth Certificate (where minors are shareholders) of the directors and shareholders.
- Director(s) & shareholders(s) full names, residential address, occupation, and date of birth.
- Signature of the director(s) and shareholder(s) signed on a piece of paper
- Objects of the company (the businesses the company intends to carryout)
- Details of the company secretary (mandatory for only a foreign-owned entity)
- Incorporation certificate and company resolution where another registered company (either local or foreign) will be a shareholder or subscriber to the proposed company.
For Business Name registration popularly known as Enterprise the requirements are as follows:
- Proposed name to be searched (before now it used to be two (2) names but now you can submit only one (1) name for name search)
- The address of the proposed enterprise
- Email and phone number of the proposed business
- Forms of identification such as National Identity Cards, International Passports, Driver’s licenses, Permanent Voters Card of the proprietor(s)
- Proprietor(s) full names, residential address, occupation, email address, phone number, and date of birth.
- Passport of the proprietor(s)
- Signature of the proprietor(s) signed on a piece of paper
- Objects of the company (the businesses the company intends to carryout).
The steps to take in registering the company or business name are as follows:
- Submission of the desired company name(s) for the search
- Start the registration process once the name is approved.
- Complete the Pre-registration form and statement of share capital (in the case of a limited liability company)
- Uploading relevant documents
- Payment of the Stamp duty and filing Fee (for a limited Liability Company)
- Payment of filing fee for Business name
- Submission of application
- When approved, download the incorporation document.
In conclusion, the process of registering a company in Nigeria has been greatly simplified but one needs to follow the guidelines to get it done and of importance is the strict adherence to the laid down rule of stipulated minimum share capital for some designated companies eg Hospitality industry (Hotels) is 10 million share capital, Security Company is 10 million share capital. Clearing and forwarding is 5 million share capital.
Read also: HOW TO REGISTER YOUR HOTEL BUSINESS WITH CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) IN NIGERIA
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