When it comes to Nigeria, the process is fairly straightforward, and entrepreneurs or investors can set up their businesses or their brands in Nigeria without problems. Coming towards the crux of the matter, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) was established by the Companies and Kindred Matters Act, which was announced in the year 1990 to regulate the formation and operation of companies in Nigeria. The CAC is ladened with the responsibility of registering companies in Nigeria. It’s a must-have for company registration in Nigeria if you want to run a legal business.
Process of registering your company in Nigeria
Get a company name
The 1st activity for any person to start a company is to get its name registered with the authorities. In the case of Nigeria, after choosing a suitable name for your company it should be instantly submitted to the CAC website to check for its accessibility. Generally, you should offer two names so that if one is taken, the other might be available. A name can be rejected if it previously exists, is confusing, or includes banned words for example ‘ National’,‘ Civil’, ‘Government‘, or ‘holdings’ without special authorization. It usually takes up to a week to complete the process of business name enrollment in Nigeria.
Prepare the MOA
This procedure is best conducted by a lawyer. He/ she is good to prepare the Memorandum of Association (MOA) and all the affiliated documents related to the objects regarding the company you wish to register. It’s the lawyers’ duty to request the names of the previous subscribers, directors, and shareholders. Each director or subscriber must be above the age of 18, of sound mind, and mustn’t have been condemned of any crime. The directors are needed to give a means of identification for examination by the CAC.
Complete the pre-registration form
After the documents have been properly prepared, you’re needed to fill out a form by the CAC, mentioning all the necessary details, and submit it to the CAC again, together with all the needed documents. You can also have a company clerk for your business who can act as a counselor and accountant and be fully responsible for filing the documents with the CAC after the company is registered.
The process is as below;
- All directors must fill out the Particulars of Director form. change of Registered Address form ( Form CAC 3).
- An individual or firm accredited by the CAC can fill out the Protestation of Compliance with the conditions of the Company and Kindred Matters Act (CAMA) form ( Form CAC 4).
Pay the stamp duty and filling charges
After filling out the enrollment form together with the medication of the MOA, the next stage is the payment of stamp duty done at an arm of the Federal Inland Revenue Services. The stamp duty is generally paid at a designated bank into the account of the Federal Inland Revenue Services. After the payment, the aspirant proceeds to the Stamp Duty Commission, where the Memorandum and Articles of Association (MAA) with some of the objectification forms are The Certificates of Incorporation will probably be returned after about six weeks from the date of submission.
Make a duplicate scanned document
The upcoming step is to prepare the signed duplicates of your registration documents mentioned in Step 3 above. It must be in the following format;
- Memorandum and Articles of Association.
- Acknowledged form of identification for Director (s)/ Subscriber (s) and Secretary.
- Substantiation of payment to CAC.
- You can upload all these documents for processing.
Submit the original documents
The final step is to submit all the originals of the documents which were scrutinized in Step 5.
Documents Needed for Company Registration;
- A notice of the listed address of your business.
- Memorandum and Articles of Association (MAA).
- Copy of receipt of payment of your stamp duties.
- Particulars, lists, and concurrence to the first directors of your company.
- Statement of compliance by a legal entity.
- Essential Conditions to Register a Company in Nigeria.
- The members of your company must be at least 18 years old.
- You can’t register a company if any of the members are of unsound mind, disqualified by the CAMA, or bankrupt.
- The minimal limit of share capital needed for company enrollment in Nigeria is NGN ten thousand.
