Failure To File Annual Return: 100,000 Companies To Go Off CAC’s Register

CAC’s Registrar-General, Garba Abubakar

One hundred thousand companies that have failed to file annual returns in the last ten years are due to be struck off by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The Registrar-General/CEO of the CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, revealed this in Lagos while speaking at a Training Workshop on the Use of the Beneficial Ownership Register (BOR).

Garba Abubakar said that the Commission would soon send notices of striking off to the affected companies before embarking on the action as enshrined in section 692 of the CAMA, 2020.

He explained that the companies were, however, entitled to be relisted upon payment of their outstanding debts and an order of a Court, as provided by the law.

Garba Abubakar therefore advised companies to ensure timely payment of their annual return to avoid being struck off.

Speaking on Africa’s first Beneficial Ownership Register, built by the CAC with the support and assistance of the World Bank, the Registrar General stressed that it would go a long way in curbing corruption, money laundering, and terrorism financing.

He therefore enjoined stakeholders, especially investigating agencies, legal practitioners, journalists, and civil society organizations, to utilize the BOR in discharging their responsibilities.

Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law, NBA-SBL, Dr. Adeyeye Adefulu, commended the CAC for recording yet another important milestone in its history.

Adeyeye Adefulu said that the NBA-SBL would sustain its existing cordial relationship with the Commission and charged members to make good use of the knowledge acquired at the training for the benefit of the Nigerian economy.

Also speaking, the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABDCON), Aminu Gwadabe underscored the importance of the BOR in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

Gwadabe highlighted some of the dangers associated with money laundering and terrorism financing and advised professionals to apply due diligence while dealing with their clients.

During the workshop, there were presentations from the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).