FILING OF CAC ANNUAL RETURNS
Registering your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is a crucial step in legalizing its existence. However, it is important to note that registration, whether as a business name, partnership, or limited liability company, is only the beginning.
FILING OF CAC ANNUAL RETURNS
What is CAC Annual Return?
An annual return refers to a yearly statement submitted by organizations that are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. This statement provides information about the organization's structure, activities, and financial status. The submission of the annual return is mandated by the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) of 2020.
Registering your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is a crucial step in legalizing its existence. However, it is important to note that registration, whether as a business name, partnership, or limited liability company, is only the beginning. Following registration, it is legally required to file annual returns for your business each year. For new businesses, the first annual return must be filed within 18 months following the end of the initial registration period.
Timelines for Filing of CAC Annual Returns
Some business owners have misconception about the filing of returns of their business. They erroneously believe that they don’t need to make any filing if their business has not commenced operations.
When should a company file CAC annual returns? What the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) specifies is that every entity registered with Corporate Affairs Commission as a business name, private or public company (either limited by shares, guarantee or unlimited), incorporated trustees, or partnership must file their first returns with the Commission after 18 months of its incorporation.
Subsequently, if your business is a business name, you must file the returns for the business on or before 30th June every year. This provision is contained in section 822(1) CAMA 2020. According to the provision of Section 421(1) of CAMA 2020, limited liability companies are required to file their annual returns with Corporate Affairs Commission within 42 days after their annual general meeting whether or not the meeting is the first or the only general meeting that the company held in the year. For clarification here, Corporate Affairs Commission expects annual returns to be delivered to the Commission within 14 days of the annual general meeting. For organizations registered as incorporated trustees such as clubs, non-governmental organizations, and non for profit institutions, they are required to file their annual returns not earlier than 30th June and not later than 31st December every year. For a Limited Liability partnership (LLP) and Limited Partnership (LP), the annual returns must be filed with Corporate Affairs Commission with 60 days of the closure of its financial year.
How Much Does It Cost to File Annual Returns?
The cost of filing returns with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) varies depending on certain factors. These factors include the legal structure of your business, the size of your business if you registered as a limited liability company, whether your company is a private or public liability company, and your timeliness in filing the returns.
If you fail to file your annual returns within the required time frame, you will be subject to a penalty for late filing. However, this penalty can be avoided by ensuring that you file your annual returns on time.
Below are the fees for the filing of CAC annual returns in Nigeria.
FEES FOR THE FILING OF CAC ANNUAL RETURNS IN NIGERIA.
|
Business Name |
Limited Partnership |
Limited Liability Partnership |
Small Company |
Company (Ltd/Gte) |
Private Company Other Than Small |
Public Company |
|
|
Annual Filing Fee |
3,000 |
5,000 |
5,000 |
5,000 |
5,000 |
5,000 |
10,000 |
|
Penalty for Late Filing |
5,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
5,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
25,000 |
|
Daily Penalties* |
150 |
500 |
500 |
250 |
500 |
500 |
1,000 |
*Daily Penalty may occur in certain circumstances. It is important you allow professionals to guide you so that you don’t commit unnecessary blunders.
Definition of Small Company
How do you determine if your company is a small company? Before your company can be classified as a small business, it must meet the following criteria:
- It must be a private company.
- Its turnover does not exceed N120,000,000 (One hundred and twenty million naira).
- Its net assets do not exceed N60,000,000 (Sixty million naira only).
- None of the members of the company is a foreigner.
- None of the members of the company is a government or government corporation or agency or its nominees.
- The directors between themselves hold at least fifty one per cent of the equity share capital of the company.
How to File CAC Annual Returns
How do I file CAC annual returns? Filing of annual returns with the Corporate and Affairs Commission is done online now. This means that you don’t need to carry any physical document to CAC’s office again. However, to file annual return, you might need to engage an accredited agent to assist you with the process. Nevertheless, let me quickly explain the process of filing annual return of business names here.
When you approach any CAC accredited agent to file the CAC annual returns of your business name for you, you will be given an annual return form to fill. In the form, you will need to provide the registration number, name, general nature, and registered address of the business. Other useful information you will fill include the following:
- Branch Address of the Business (if any)
- Annual Return Details: In this section, you will state the year the annual return relates to and the financial year end/accounting year end. You will also supply information regarding the turnover and the net assets of the business.
- Particulars of Proprietor/Partners: This is the section where you will provide the information about the proprietor and partners of the business name.
- Particulars of Corporate Partner (if any). If your business named is joint owned by a corporate body, you will fill the name, registration number, and address of the corporate body.
- Authentication: This is where the name and email address of the proprietor, partner or any person that authorized the annual return.
When you make available all the above information, the CAC accredited agent can then take it up from there. After the agent has filed the annual return, CAC will either query or approve it. If queried, reason for the query will be given. If approved, the agent can then download the acknowledgement letter and then apply to the Corporate Affairs Commission for the business name to be make active.
