CAC To Delist Over 100,000 Companies From Database For Failing To File Annual Returns
If you are a registered business owner in Nigeria, and you have not filled out your annual returns for ten years, you might wake up one day to discover shockingly that your corporate brand does not exist anymore.
This will happen if The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) carries out the threat to remove 100,000 registered companies that have failed to file annual returns in the last 10 years from its records soon. Garba Abubakar, the Registrar-General/CEO of CAC, revealed that it will remove 100,000 registered companies from its records soon.
Garba Abubakar, Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CAC disclosed this recently during a training on using the beneficial ownership register.
He also said the Commission would notify the companies before delisting, according to Section 692 of the CAMA 2020.
Abubakar added that the companies could register again after paying their outstanding debts and with an order of a court as permitted by the law.
The CAC chief advised companies to ensure timely payment of their annual returns to avoid delisting.
Speaking on the beneficial ownership register Abubakar said: “The portal is an automated platform where records of PSC (Companies) collated by CAC are stored and made accessible to the general public and for government use. This platform offers a search function and information on persons with significant control by the international standard of beneficiary ownership data standards (BODS) under the guidance of the World Bank. It also provides an Enterprise Service Bus, ESB, gateway for data exchange by BODS in the required format.
“The BOR Portal will enable users to find the Person with Significant Control, PSC, of any entity when a search is initiated with either of the following parameters: entity’s name, entity’s number, PSC first name, and PSC surname.”
Abubakar explained that the device will check if a company is registered in Nigeria to help people avoid business relationships with fake companies. “Doing business with an unregistered company is very dangerous and you can lose your money so this platform will help you determine if the company is real or fake” he stressed.