National
CAMA implementation 2020: CAC gives registered companies March 31st to update information
By Henry Uche
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), has commenced the implementation of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA 2020), and has given registered companies till March 31 to update their information to enable both parties work seamlessly.
A statement from Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, quoting The Leadership, revealed that the Registrar-General of CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, who stated this in Abuja recently noted that the commission had also launched a new self-service portal that allows for end-to-end electronic submission by customers.
Taken effect on January 1st, the new law provides a robust framework towards reforming identified legal, regulatory and administrative bottlenecks, which had hitherto slowed down the wheel of doing business in Nigeria over three decades now.
Acccording to the statement, the law came with a lot of innovations and changes to some of the old provisions off CAMA 1990, hence the need to make some changes to make the old law consistent with the new law.
Abubakar said: “We needed to make necessary changes to the Registration software to accommodate the reforms introduced by the new law. The portal started working on January 3 and customers are already using it; so from the comfort of your home or using your own phone, you can now register your company.
He noted that the new CAMA would strengthen the regulatory and oversight powers of CAC and provide for greater disclosure and accountability by registered entities adding that the commission now had an integrated system that had reduced the time and processes for company registration, in line with the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) campaign of the federal government.
“Unlike the previous procedures, where certificates were being printed by the commission and then sent to customers through designated courier companies, the new system allowed for end-to-end electronic submission. When you file, you get your certificate electronically; and you can either print it or save it, and you get your certified extract, your certified Memorandum and Articles of Association electronically.
“For the first time, post incorporation filings are also been done electronically, in the past they were done manually. The upgrade has also introduced a new interface that allows for post registration; so when you register your company, you can change your directors without having to come to CAC. Unlike the old system, where applications are in silos and different applications for registration, document upload and document archival, now the new system is integrated,” he said.