As a result of the upgrade done by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), individuals and businesses can now do the entire registration online using the new e- registration portal
The platform has been upgraded in line with the implementation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA 2020 signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2020.
The upgraded portal integrates a post-incorporation section for registered companies to file changes. Registered companies are required to update their information by March 31, according to the commission.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to register your company online using the new CAC e-registration portal.
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- Creation of account with CAC through the e-Registration portal
The first step to be taken is to create an account with CAC before you can register your company, if you are not an accredited agent with the CAC. To begin your company registration process, go to the CAC official website and log on to the e-registration portal.
.2. Availability and reservation of Company name
The applicant is required to choose two suitable proposed names for the company, after which he has to check for availability of the proposed name, this will be conducted on the CAC online portal to find out if the name is available and has not already been used.
You have the opportunity of submitting 2 names, out of which one will be approve if similar name has not been previously registered. Where names supplied are not available, your application will be denied and you will have to summit another name for search.
If your business name reservation is successful you would get an approval note containing a name availability code.
- Register your company
The next step after your name is successfully reserved is to enter your company name availability code in the space provided to continue the company registration process.
Once the code is verified, proceed to the Registration Form and fill in the required information. For particulars of your company, details you have to enter include the nature of the principal business your company will be engaged in, company email address and registered office address.
For information on company directors and shareholders, input personal data – name, date of birth, gender, phone number, means of identification as well as percentage of shares to be held.
Similarly, fill in these details for the company secretary (individual or corporate body). The applicant is required to prepare the Company’s Memorandum and Article of Association (MEMART) advisable to be drafted professionally by a Legal Practitioner. Nevertheless, the CAC has provided a generic MEMART, which can be adopted entirely or with addition/amendments by the new company.
The applicant is to proceed to the section for proposed officers, for small private companies, the appointment of a secretary is now optional for a small company, but where the company decides to appoint a secretary, the applicant must provide the relevant details of the secretary.
- Payment of Filing Fee and Stamp Duty
Pay filing and Stamp duty fee as prescribed by CAC and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
- Scanning and upload of I.D. Cards and signature of the officers
You have to upload the following documents:
The pdf format of the identification cards of the officers. The signature of each officer must be scanned and uploaded in jpeg or pgn against each officer’s name. Submit the form and wait for the approval of the registration of the company and issuance of certificate by CAC
- Download your certificate from your dashboard
Upon completion of the registration and approval by the CAC, your company’s Certificate of Incorporation will be uploaded to your account dashboard where you can easily download and print out.
Introducing Electronic Document Management System (EDMS)
The EDMS allows users to directly upload their document on the portal during registration/Incorporation or filing of post-incorporation processes. Without having to log in to a separate document upload portal .This optimizes the registration and filling process, save time and make the Company Registration Portal more user friendly
With the former system, customers have to logout and login to a separate site to upload their document
With EDMS integrated into the new system, customers will upload documents directly on their portal while filling for registration.
Customers will no longer require to download documents, sign it before uploading.
Signatures, passport photo where necessary are now easily uploaded directly during registration within the same portal.
In conclusion, there are commendable innovations in the new CAMA 2020 and Companies Regulations 2021, which have made registration of companies easier. The new procedure, has given an individual opportunity to undertake the incorporation process directly without engaging the service of an accredited agent. That notwithstanding, the service of an accredited agent who is a legal practitioner cannot be totally dispensed with because he has the know-how of business structure suitable for the applicant, the drafting of Articles of Association and also share capital threshold applicable to a type of business.
Saheed Akininola esq is a legal practitioner and writer. His expertise covers a wide areas such as: corporate practice, asset acquisition, property acquisition, real estate, debt recovery, family law etc. He consults for individuals and corporate organization across Nigeria and abroad. He could be contacted via: lagoslawgurus@gmail.com, www.frontlinersnews.com +2348032493960