Filling Annual Returns – How To Change the Status of Your Business from INACTIVE To ACTIVE On CAC Platform
Key Takeaways
- Every registered business is expected to file Annual Returns every year before 30th June.
- Failure to file Annual Returns on time attracts a penalty fee.
- If your business is indicated as INACTIVE on CAC platform it means your Annual Returns filing is not up to date.
- To change the status to ACTIVE simply file your annual returns.
Do you want to change the status of your Company from INACTIVE to ACTIVE but don’t know how to go about it? Read on to find out how to check your Company status and how to change your INACTIVE company status to ACTIVE.
The Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA) regulates the activities of corporate entities in Nigeria. It provides for the incorporation of companies, limited liability partnerships, limited partnerships, registration of business names together with incorporation of trustees of certain communities, bodies, associations and related matters.
CAMA established the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to cater for the registration, regulation and supervision of the formation, incorporation, management, striking off and winding up of companies, business names, management and removal of names from the register, and the formation, incorporation, management and dissolution of incorporated trustees.
One of the requirements of CAMA is that every individual, firm or corporation carrying on business under a registered business name shall, not later than the 30th day of June in each year, except the calendar year in which the business name is registered, deliver to the Commission a return in a prescribed form.
This is the so-called Annual Return. It is simply the process of informing CAC that your business is still active and subsisting. Consequentially, where the individual, firm or corporation fails to comply they shall be liable to a penalty and a daily default penalty prescribed in the Commission’s regulations.
CAC keeps a record of every registered business; this can be found on CAC Public Search Portal. To check the status of your company, visit CAC search portal, enter the name of your company and click on search.
Upon a search enquiry on the portal, it is indicated whether the business is Active or Inactive. The indicated status of a registered entity on the Public Search portal as “ACTIVE” or “INACTIVE” is a function of the entity’s annual returns filing. Where a registered entity has not filed its annual returns up to date, the status of the entity is indicated as ‘INACTIVE”.
When a registered entity has filed its annual returns up to date, the status of the entity is indicated as “ACTIVE”. You can simply move your business status from INACTIVE to ACTIVE by filing your annual returns up to date.
Note that CAC would not delete your business because it is INACTIVE. The cost of filing annual returns varies depending on whether it is a business name, small company, private company other than small company and public company.
| COST OF FILING ANNUAL RETURNS | |||||
| BUSINESS NAME | LTD GTE | SMALL COM | PRIVATE CO | PUBLIC CO | |
| FILING FEE | 3,000 | 5,000 | 5000 | 5,000 | 10,000 |
| PENALTY | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 |
Certain categories of companies are required to submit their statement of account as an additional document.
To file your annual returns, you can do so at https://post.cac.gov.ng/login or send us a message here and we will be happy to take the burden off you.
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Read More on the Compliance checklist for your Business.
