The Federal Government has approved a downward review of the cost of registering a company with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.

A statement issued by the NIPC on Monday stated that the approval was given by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga.

The statement, signed by the Assistant Director/ Head, Media and Publicity, NIPC, Mr. Joel Attah, said the downward review from N50,000 to N15,000, was designed to make Nigeria highly competitive in line with international best practices.

The downward review, the statement added, was at the instance of NIPC and also in line with the desire of the Federal Government to improve the country’s competitiveness rating on doing business.

Attah said, “It is also a very bold attempt at lowering the cost of doing business in Nigeria.

“This is expected to substantially enhance the country’s national competitiveness as a Foreign Direct Investment destination.”

The NIPC was established by Act No. 16 of 1995 to promote, encourage and coordinate investment in Nigeria.

Section 4 (a) of the Act mandates the commission to register and keep records of all enterprises with foreign equity participation.

In the light of this development, the statement called on both new and existing investors to ensure that their businesses were registered with the commission in line with Section 20 (1) and (2) of the NIPC Act.
www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/fg-approves-reduction-of-company-registration-fees/

Federal Government wants to encourage investment by reducing cost of registration of company with foreign equity participation from N50,000 to N15,000.

Lagos State under our (yet to be messiah President) Babatunde Fashola is discouraging business by forcing Spare Parts and Auto Dealers to pay yearly renewable "levy" of N50,000 and N100,000 without recourse to the size of their business.

If APC is to adopt the Economic policies of Lagos State Govt, I will "advise" my Eastern Nigeria brethren to keep of this so called mega party until Fashola's ulterior motives are purged from the system for better Nigeria.

This topic will not make front page since it is not about promoting APC, fash, bola or buhari.

Does the reduction effect that of CAC?

I don't think so because I know for Limited liability company CAC charges N20,000 per N1,000,000 worth of shares registered.

kenis: Does the reduction effect that of CAC?

Great move

Jona is working to alleviate poverty.

Is the yearly renewable "levy" of N50,000 and N100,000 only for Spare Parts and Auto Dealers of Eastern Nigeria descent?. If it is a bad policy, it should be condemned. Must we see everything from ethnic prism?.

Ngwakwe: Federal Government wants to encourage investment by reducing cost of registration of company with foreign equity participation from N50,000 to N15,000.

Lagos State under our (yet to be messiah President) Babatunde Fashola is discouraging business by forcing Spare Parts and Auto Dealers to pay yearly renewable "levy" of N50,000 and N100,000 without recourse to the size of their business.

If APC is to adopt the Economic policies of Lagos State Govt, I will "advise" my Eastern Nigeria brethren to keep of this so called mega party until Fashola's ulterior motives are purged from the system for better Nigeria.

Another very very GOOD move. The GEJ's Govt hv bn using sm fiscal measures, like tariffs, to aid Nigerian Cops and attract Investments including improving Infrastructure. They need to do more though, esp colla with State/Local Govts in oda to reduce MULTIPLE TAXATION. Measures shld also be put in place to reduce Interest rates; but we are moving in d right directn now...

Why now that I ve registered mine? They must give me change o; or forget about d policy

.

Please what is the major difference between CAC and NIPC? This one that they are both registering companies. Which do we use?

A welcome development

Rubbish. Why cut fees for foreign investors, while only last week or so, the same government increased the cost of registering a limited liability company at the CAC . You reduce for foreigners who don't need the reduction only to increase for long suffering locals?

At the end of the day, it is small businesses established by ordinary Mr Chinedu and Mummy Junior that will create the jobs that we need, not mostly fake foreign 'investors' who come with empty pockets but are able to obtain big loans from local banks 'cos they are Oyinbo.

Surely, a genuine foreign investor with millions of dollars (supposedly) in his 'back pocket' will care less about a reduction in fees equivalent to just USD 250.

As things stand today, it will cost me less than £20 (N5000) to register a company in the UK, but registering an equivalent company in Nigeria will cost at least 6 times that amount due to GEJ government's latest increase.

To encourage entrepreneurship, Government must get out of people's way and cut down on needless barriers and costs. The cost of registering a company should be cut down to N10K or less.

Confused Government.

Makes no sense? You cannot register your company with the Nigeria Investment promotion commission without first registering a company with the corporate affairs commission ( CAC) and the CAC has just increased the registration of companies and business name fees recently. So what's the gain? How many ordinary Nigerians even register their businesses with the NIPC? That's coupled with the bureaucracy to register a company that should take less than a week turning into 3 months to register. This country self!

Now this is signs of a government that understands buisness. This along with better security, better and cheap power supply and first class infastructure will send this country soaring to high heavens!! The problems of this country is'nt rocket science, it is within our reach, it's only our will as a people and government to achieve them!!

Abeg we no get light here since yestarday o...

lawyer: Makes no sense? You cannot register your company with the Nigeria Investment promotion commission without first registering a company with the corporate affairs commission ( CAC) and the CAC has just increased the registration of companies and business name fees recently. So what's the gain? How many ordinary Nigerians even register their businesses with the NIPC? That's coupled with the bureaucracy to register a company that should take less than a week turning into 3 months to register. This country self!

in clear terms?

@ topic! A very misleading headline! The company registration fees has not been reduced. Rather it has been increased by the CAC by an extra 30% or so. What the Fg has reduced is registration of companies under the nigeria investment promotion commission. The NIPC is a branch of government for foreigners who intent to invest in Nigeria, it aims to reduce their taxes and encourage them to invest more in Nigeria. So the fees they pay to the NIPC to grant them waiver and tax rebates to invest in Nigeria has been reduced and not the company registration fees. The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is the body responsible for the reduction or increment of company registration fees not the (NIPC) and there is no circular or information that they reduced the company registration fees rather it has recently been increased starting this January 2013

Please understand the differences and clear the air on the misleading headline

edo.girl:
Rubbish. Why cut fees for foreign investors, while only last week or so, the same government increased the cost of registering a limited liability company at the CAC . You reduce for foreigners who don't need the reduction only to increase for long suffering locals?

At the end of the day, it is small businesses established by ordinary Mr Chinedu and Mummy Junior that will create the jobs that we need, not mostly fake foreign 'investors' who come with empty pockets but are able to obtain big loans from local banks 'cos they are Oyinbo.

Surely, a genuine foreign investor with millions of dollars (supposedly) in his 'back pocket' will care less about a reduction in fees equivalent to just USD 250.

As things stand today, it will cost me less than £20 (N5000) to register a company in the UK, but registering an equivalent company in Nigeria will cost at least 6 times that amount due to GEJ government's latest increase.

To encourage entrepreneurship, Government must get out of people's way and cut down on needless barriers and costs. The cost of registering a company should be cut down to N10K or less.

Confused Government.

Abeg where did you get d info dat CAC fees hv bn increasd?? Thnks for the anticipatd quick response cos am waiting.

Besides the cost of company registration with the CAC, is the issue of too much bureaucracy, etc.

Imagine if the Director travelled, all approvals are suspended until his return.

In less than two hours in Dubai, and having satisfied the basic requirements, your company is duly registered and all relevant certificates issued in a very friendly business environment. No wonder the stupendous progress and prosperity we are seeing there.

But in the CAC offices, everything including the people and environment are intimidating and discouraging.

Government should bring in efficiency and effectiveness into the system! Businesses thrive in a friendly and conducive atmosphere. My one cent.

Ngwakwe: Federal Government wants to encourage investment by reducing cost of registration of company with foreign equity participation from N50,000 to N15,000.

Lagos State under our (yet to be messiah President) Babatunde Fashola is discouraging business by forcing Spare Parts and Auto Dealers to pay yearly renewable "levy" of N50,000 and N100,000 without recourse to the size of their business.

If APC is to adopt the Economic policies of Lagos State Govt, I will "advise" my Eastern Nigeria brethren to keep of this so called mega party until Fashola's ulterior motives are purged from the system for better Nigeria.

I am happy to see someone who speaks the truth here on nairaland,this is the same Fashola that increased Lasu school fees from 25,000 naira to 250,000. Thank God,at least federal owned universities are still relatively affordable,Uniben schools fees is 14,000 naira etc.A vote for this so called merger party is a vote for the increase of school fees in all federal universities by 400%.Be warned,dont be carried away by sentiments!, Secondly the problem with Acn led governments,is that you cannot protest against their harsh policies. They use military force to crush protest,e.g The protest against the imposition of fruadulent toll levy

Maybe am not aware sha of d lastest increases and activities of d CAC (since sm of u guys are saying it startd dis yr), but dis is what I know:

late last yr, CAC took sm really important Administrative and Policy moves that was supposd to actuali lead to significant Reduction in d OVERALL amount of money businesses usd to complete all d Registratn Processes (and am not just talking about d Actual money paid for d Registratn). Such moves included bringing all d relevant companies necessary for d complete Registration process (like FIRS, etc) unda same roof so dat prospective company owners wud not need to spend unnecessary Stress, Time and of course, Money to run around these oda Govt agencies in dier various difference locations.

CAC also removd d Compulsory requirement of using a Lawyer/otherProfessional to register one's company ; one can now register directly without having to pay additional fees to Lawyers and odas, which was esp meant for SMEs- all these moves was supposd to reduce d OVERALL money spent by as much as 50%.

I wont know sha if they increasd d Actual fee payable to CAC dis yr, and wud want to know where u guys got dat info. Thnx in advance

Another public stunt,whatever they reduced in one section they recoup in another,fake fake fake.

taharqa: Maybe am not aware sha of d lastest increases and activities of d CAC (since sm of u guys are saying it startd dis yr), but dis is what I know: late last yr, CAC took sm really important Administrative and Policy moves that was supposd to actuali lead to significant Reduction in d OVERALL amount of money businesses usd to complete all d Registratn Processes (and am not just talking about d Actual money paid for d Registratn). Such moves included bringing all d relevant companies necessary for d complete Registration process (like FIRS, etc) unda same roof so dat prospective company owners wud not need to spend unnecessary Stress, Time and of course, Money to run around these oda Govt agencies in dier various difference location. CAC also removd d Compulsory requirement of using a Lawyer/otherProfessional to register one's company ; one can now register directly without having to pay additional fees to Lawyers and odas, which was esp meant for SMEs- all these moves was supposd to reduce d OVERALL money spent by as much as 50%...... I wont know sha if they increasd d Actual fee payable to CAC dis yr, and wud want to know where u guys got dat info. Thnx in advance

oga pls stop circulating false gist biko...there is no way cac can say or order or do other wise by saying u don't need the lawyer to incorporate your company..the corporate affairs was established by an act( cama 2004) and d act provides for who is allowed to do business in cac they are lawyers chartered acct and chartered secretaries. even at that der is a form that only a lawyer can fill during incorporartion and so d chartered pple wud still need d lawyers...so without bodering you futher its only wen ure registering under part A dat individuals are allowed...all cac policies are guided by cama 2004 and to do otherwise wud b a nullity

Ngwakwe: Federal Government wants to encourage investment by reducing cost of registration of company with foreign equity participation from N50,000 to N15,000.

Lagos State under our (yet to be messiah President) Babatunde Fashola is discouraging business by forcing Spare Parts and Auto Dealers to pay yearly renewable "levy" of N50,000 and N100,000 without recourse to the size of their business.

If APC is to adopt the Economic policies of Lagos State Govt, I will "advise" my Eastern Nigeria brethren to keep of this so called mega party until Fashola's ulterior motives are purged from the system for better Nigeria.

Fashola and Tinubu are business men with passion for greed acquisition hence the outrageous fees they charge on virtually everything in Lagos state. They make it impossible for an average person to acquire property in Lagos. You buy land, to get your papers is like getting killed.

kenis: Does the reduction effect that of CAC?

Registration with CAC is cheap between 5k and 15k.

0Edward0: Please what is the major difference between CAC and NIPC? This one that they are both registering companies. Which do we use?

Companies with foreign capital input register with NIPC while companies fully owned by Nigerians register with CAC.

andyanders:

Fashola and Tinubu are business men with passion for greed acquisition hence the outrageous fees they charge on virtually everything in Lagos state. They make it impossible for an average person to acquire property in Lagos. You buy land, to get your papers is like getting killed.

Abia state thesame. Applying for only C of O takes about N200,000. Building plan and application about N300,000. Survey plan N75,000. 4yrs tax clearance N48,000. Registration of Power of attorney, i don 4get that one. So far 1plot has consumed over N600,000 on registration fees.

That is why some people fight with them when they come to mark buildings under construction.

nonysmith: oga pls stop circulating false gist biko...there is no way cac can say or order or do other wise by saying u don't need the lawyer to incorporate your company..the corporate affairs was established by an act( cama 2004) and d act provides for who is allowed to do business in cac they are lawyers chartered acct and chartered secretaries. even at that der is a form that only a lawyer can fill during incorporartion and so d chartered pple wud still need d lawyers...so without bodering you futher its only wen ure registering under part A dat individuals are allowed...all cac policies are guided by cama 2004 and to do otherwise wud b a nullity

You seemed to be new to NL cos you wud have known that the @Poster you responded to does not usually say things out of the blues or 'spread false gists' openly and knowingly:

The Corporate Affair Commission (CAC) said it has concluded arrangements to scan the back log of records of all Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees in order to permanently solve the problems of file mutilation, pilferage and loss of valuable documents.

According to the Registrar-General of the Commission, Bello Mahmud, computerization of documents in the Commission started in 2004, which implies that companies’ records dating back to 1912 are being manually kept with the resulting problems mutilation, pilferage and loss of valuable documents.

[b]He said the scanning of the back log of records, which is expected to commence by early 2013 with a 12 months completion period, would make it possible for customers to access company information electronically via the web.

He noted that the Commission considers the project very critical to its operations and vision to become a world class companies’ registry, adding that the Commission would be getting project management support from Elumelu Foundation.

He said the Commission has also provided office spaces to selected commercial banks and the Stamp Duty Office of the Federal Inland Revenue Service in its offices across the country and recently to Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), which he said was to provide enabling environment for businesses to engage with relevant regulators seamlessly and conduct all registration services within the same roof.

This, he was optimistic, would enables prospective investors to make all necessary payments and process their documents at one point without having to go outside the Commission and would also increase efficiency and service delivery period for various transactions with the Commission.

The Registrar-General said the Companies Regulation 2012 has also been approved by the Minister of Trade and Investment in pursuant to Sections 16, 585 and 609 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, which he said would assist the Commission to meet the expectation of its customers and standardize its processes and procedures in line with global best practice. The new regulation, he said, include the removal of restriction that only Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, and Chartered Secretaries could register Companies with CAC, explaining that under the new Regulation, the first Directors/Subscribers can now register their Companies directly, saying that the new system is expected to reduce the cost of registering a company by at least 50%.[/b]

He said a new requirement has also been introduced making it mandatory for the Directors/Subscribers to Memorandum and Articles of Association to submit recognized form of identification such as information page of International Passport, Drivers License or National Identity Card for all new registration and post registration services. This, he said will reduce incidence of fake identity in company formation and support the anti-money laundering initiative of various Government Agencies and Federal Government’s transformation agenda.

He also noted that the Commission has successfully achieved a 24 hour service delivery period for all new registration services for Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees since, explaining that with the new system, customers in Abuja and Lagos have now been getting their certificates of registration within 24 hours of filing. This, he said, is comparable to what obtains in the Companies Registry of advanced countries such as United Kingdom, Singapore and New Zealand.

He noted that the Commission registered a total of 74,651 companies, 87,640 Business Names and 8,291 Incorporated Trustees between January and October this year, amounting to increases of 10.7%, 18% and 6.7% respectively over the corresponding period in 2011. This, he said, brings the total number of Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees to 979,016, 2,041,341 and 54,397 respectively.

“As part of efforts to improve the investment climate and to make services more accessible to customers and the general public, the Commission has embarked on total upgrade of its registration software to provide for a robust electronic payment system, amongst others. This will enable customers pay and get the services of the CAC electronically via the web.

We shall continue to improve our processes and procedures towards making Nigeria a global trade and investment hub,” he said.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/12/cac-to-enhance-business-operating-environment/

By the way, none of u guys saying that the Actual money payable directly to CAC have been increased this year have provided any evidence for such increases. I am still waiting for that inf to be provided; hope you guys would soon do, so that I wud not have t start calling some persons liars. I just want to be NICE today plz.

Again, Thnks.

nonysmith: oga pls stop circulating false gist biko...there is no way cac can say or order or do other wise by saying u don't need the lawyer to incorporate your company..the corporate affairs was established by an act( cama 2004) and d act provides for who is allowed to do business in cac they are lawyers chartered acct and chartered secretaries. even at that der is a form that only a lawyer can fill during incorporartion and so d chartered pple wud still need d lawyers...so without bodering you futher its only wen ure registering under part A dat individuals are allowed...all cac policies are guided by cama 2004 and to do otherwise wud b a nullity

I dont know what you are talking about.

I have registered 2 company names, all by myself. Am not a lawyer. Only uneducated traders employ laywers and pay N50,000 to register Okonkwo and Sons Nig. Ltd.

there is a diffence between business name and registration of a company

okpara ugo:

I dont know what you are talking about.

I have registered 2 company names, all by myself. Am not a lawyer. Only uneducated traders employ laywers and pay N50,000 to register Okonkwo and Sons Nig. Ltd.