The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria has launched a new self-service portal that allows for end-to-end electronic submission by customers. This disclosure was made yesterday in Abuja by the CAC registrar-general, Alhaji Garba Abubakar.
Abubakar also stated that the commission has commenced the implementation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020).
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, on August 7,2020, signed into law the CAMA 2020, which repealed and replaced the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.
Public debate on the new law had been robust since its promulgation, with some describing it as a timely and progressive development in the Nigerian business and economic landscape.
Abubakar told NAN that the new law took effect on January 1, and that the CAC had given registered companies till March 31 to update their information.
According to him, the new law provided a robust framework towards reforming identified legal, regulatory and administrative bottlenecks, which had hitherto slowed down the wheel of doing business for over three decades.
“The minister approved the Companies Regulation 2021 towards the end of December, 2020 and the approval says it is effective from January 1, 2021.
“Already the implementation has started and we have upgraded software that allows you to register your company electronically.
“The law has come with a lot of innovations and changes to some of the old provisions off CAMA 1990, so we needed to make some changes to bring them up-to-date, consistent with the new law.
“We needed to make necessary changes to the Registration software to accommodate the reforms introduced by the new law, and that took some time.
“The portal started working on January 3 and customers are already using it; so from the comfort of your home or using your own phone, you can now register your company,” he said.
Abubakar noted that the new CAMA would strengthen the regulatory and oversight powers of CAC and provide for greater disclosure and accountability by registered entities.
He explained that the commission now had an integrated system that had reduced the time and processes for company registration, in line with the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) campaign of the federal government.
He said that unlike previous procedures, where certificates were being printed by the commission and then sent to customers through designated courier companies, the new system allowed for end-to-end electronic submission.
“When you file, you get your certificate electronically; and you can either print it or save it, and you get your certified extract, your certified Memorandum and Articles of Association electronically.
“For the first time, post incorporation filings are also being done electronically, in the past they were done manually.
“The upgrade has also introduced a new interface that allows for post registration; so when you register your company, you can change your directors without having to come to CAC.
“Unlike the formal system, where the applications are in silos, where you have different applications for registration, document upload and document archival, the new system is integrated,” he said.
