Presidency cuts deadline for business registration to 2 days

The Presidential Committee on Ease of Doing Business has slashed deadline for registration of new businesses from 10 to two days and effected a 24-hour timeline for registration of companies.

This takes effect from when an application form is completed and all required documents made available. Similarly, it stated that all prospective business owners could now search on Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, portal (www.cac.gov.ng) to avoid duplication of names and prevent selection of prohibited names, while company registration no longer requires lawyers.

According to the committee, it is now optional for Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, to hire lawyers to prepare registration documents.

These were among the highlights of a report presented at a Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC,  at yesterday’s meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting, which marked the end of the 60-day Action Plan on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria reforms, was chaired by Minister of Transportation, Mr.

Chibuike Amaechi, at the instance of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was engaged with the work of the Presidential Investigative Panel. Other ministers at the meeting included Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of State for Industry Trade & Investment, Aisha Abubakar, and her counterpart in Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.

Other government dignitaries at the meeting includedHead of Service, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, and several heads of MDAs. The report which was presented by Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Trade & Investment indicated that “CAC has introduced single incorporation form (CAC1.1) to save time and reduce costs, while the agency has introduced document upload interface on its website to enable e-submission of registration documents.”