CAC Registration in Nigeria

Want to know about CAC registrations in Nigeria? Company incorporation, Business name, TIN, Incorporated Trustee etc.? Stick with me!

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The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is an independent body. It is saddled with the responsibility of regulating the formation and management of companies, businesses, churches, mosques and non-governmental organizations.

Starting or developing business in a foreign land may be discouraging since you are not familiar with the way things are done there. But when it comes to Nigeria, the process is fairly straightforward. Entrepreneurs or investors find it very easy to set up their businesses or company in Nigeria as it requires little or no stress at all.

Below is a sample of CAC incorporation certificate. Contact our recommended lawyer on WhatsApp to get yours done. Or call 08133354407 or email [email protected].

Follow this article to the end as it will help in enlightening you about CAC registration in Nigeria.

Company Registration

Here are the steps to registering a company in Nigeria.

1. Company Name

The first step to company registration is getting the name of your company registered with the corporate affairs commission. This commission will therefore help you to check if the name is available. But cases in which the name has already been in existence, confusing or includes words that are mostly used by government organizations, the name can be rejected.

However, submission of two names for your business can be advised just in case one has already been taken, the other will be available. This will save you from unnecessary stress and story that touches the heart.

2. Prepare the Memorandum Of Association (MOA)

Here, the involvement of a legal practitioner will be of great help. He/she is the best qualified person that can help in preparing your MOA (Memorandum Of Association) and other documents that has to do with the objectives of the company you intend to register.

He is expected to know the names of those who has shares in the company, Carry out thorough investigation on each shareholders or directors and be sure no one has any criminal record, must be of sound mind and must be above eighteen years of age. Each of them will then be properly inspected by the corporate affairs commission through the means of identification provided.

3. The Pre-registration Form

There’s a form you are required to fill by the CAC. In this form you will mention all important details about your company and submit it again to the commission together with all necessary documents.

This particular process can possibly be made easy by the lawyer in charge.

4. Filling fee and stamp duty payment

Before an applicant can get his/her Memorandum and Articles of Association with some of the incorporation forms stamped, he must make payment through a designated bank into the Federal Inland Revenue Services.

Then after the payment, the stamped forms and documents will be submitted to the corporate affairs commission.

The returning of the Certificate of Incorporation to the applicant may likely take up to six weeks from the date of submission.

5. Prepare the scanned copy of your documents

At this level, the signed scan copy of your pre- registration forms and documents mentioned in third step will be prepared and further uploaded online for processing. It can take the format below:

• Form CAC1.1
• MAA ( Memorandum and Articles of Association)
• Identification forms of subscriber(s)/Director(s) and shareholder(s) recognized by CAC
• Evidence of payments made to the corporate affairs commission.

See also: How to Register an NGO in Nigeria

6. Submission of the Original documents

The submission of the original documents is the final step to take in registering your company i.e you are to submit all the originals of the documents scanned in step v.

• Requirements for company registration
• Your lawyer’s statement of compliance
• Necessary documents to register a company in Nigeria
• Memorandum and Articles of Association
• Evidence/receipt of your stamp duties payment
• portfolios, particulars and list of the initial subscribers of your company
• notice of your business registered address
• The number of the members of your company may range between 2 to 50
• The age of your company members must not be below 18 years of age
  Note, your company can’t be registered if any of your members are disqualified by CAMA or of unsound mind.

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Business Name Registration

Business name registration entails the submission of your business name to the state so as to get it on their list of business names.

Reasons why you should get your business name registered with CAC

i. Registering your business name save you from losing your personal assets i.e your incorporated business is deemed by law to be a complete separate legal entity and by implication, you cannot not be held responsible for the debts owed by your business unless you had personally guaranteed the debt/loan. In other words, your personal assets can’t be seized to repay your company’s debt.

ii. The rapid growth and expansion of your business is dependent on the resources available. You can easily attract or raise money for your business from investors or government when your business name is registered. This shows the investors that you already have a formal structure in place as no one will be willing to invest in an unregistered business.

iii. The incorporation of your business gives it reputation and respect. It can also suggest that you business has reached a certain level of recognition and prominence. It also portrays your business as one with effective, efficient and responsible management and this automatically gives your clients or customers some sense of trust or certainty.

iv. Incorporation of your business gives it an unlimited life span i.e even the death of the owner or change in ownership of the business does no affect the continual existence of the business. The only circumstance under which the existence of a company can be affected is if it is formally shut down by the order of the law court. This claim proves a company to be a complete legal entity. In a nut shell, incorporation of business allows it to live longer than you and many generations.

v. Once you register your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission, you’re save from having any problem in the future regarding your business name because it’s the responsibility of the CAC to see to it that your business name is protected and cannot be used by any organization or company across the country. In other words, the incorporating your business make it distinct from other companies in Nigeria.

Here are the steps to register a business name with CAC:

• Make a choice of your business name and check for it availability/ accessibility
• Your pre- registration form must be filled properly
• Your filling fee must be paid
• All necessary documents must be ready for upload
• Originals of your documents will be submitted to the CAC.

It’s worthy of note that having a business name is one of the most important thing in setting up a business. Even if you are not sure of the legal form you want to use, as long as you have a name in mind, register it. You can always change your mind when you have the full picture of the business, but the registration will protect your name from any unauthorized use.

TIN registration

Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is a unique number set aside or earmarked to identify an individual or company as an appropriate registered taxpayer in Nigeria.

The Nigeria law states that apart from incorporation with the Corporate Affairs Commission, every company is to register for tax purposes.

The following are steps to be taken in order to get your TIN registration done online:

Stage 1: visit the joint tax board portal.

Stage 2: input your date of birth

Stage 3: input your preferred search means either BVN, NIN or registered number.

Stage 4: input the digit of the search means you chose in the previous stage. For instance. If you chose NIN in stage 3: enter your NIN digit.

Stage 5: Verify that you are not a robot by clicking the reCAPTCHA box.

Stage 6: Click the search button to get your TIN

Church/Mosque/NGO

To start with, you need to make a choice of the name of the particular church, Mosque or NGO and be sure that the name you’ve chosen is accessible and has not been used by anyone.

Also bear in mind that you will be ask for the type of business. Since churches, mosques and non-governmental organizations fall under this category, you are expected to use incorporated trustees.

Secondly, you will set up a board of trustees that will stand in as shareholders/directors. This board of trustees are usually saddled with the responsibility of managing the administration of the church or mosque. They also monitors the church, mosques or NGO’s adherence to law and regulation.

More so, immediately the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) approve the chosen name, then the next line of action is to publish the approved name of the church or mosque in at least three(3) newspaper in the country. It is necessary that at least one out of the three newspaper must be somewhere close to the church or mosque area.
Lastly, one major question you will be asked is ‘what are the aims and objectives of the church, mosque or the NGO you are setting up’ so you must have the answers ready.

The members of the board of trustees are also expected to fill their forms correctly and be sure that all their personal information required are carefully included. Moreover, the application form is to be submitted with the following attachment:

– Two passport photographs of the board of trustees

– applicant letter

– Originals of the published newspaper

– 2 copies of the NGO’S Constitution

– memo of the meeting where the trustees were appointed and so on…

Conclusion

CAC Registration is an important legal requirement of setting up either businesses, churches, mosques or NGO. The truth is that, investors will only be interested in a well registered company. Therefore, for an entrepreneur to qualify for certain benefits either from investor or government, it has to be registered as a company.

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Written by – Faith ADESIYAN