The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced an extension of the deadline for imposing penalties on companies that have failed to submit their annual returns to April 1, 2024. The initial deadline was January 1, 2024,
The agency disclosed the new date in a public notice dated December 28, 2023, signed by the management.
It attributed the extension to the ‘glitches presently experienced on the Company Registration Portal (CRP) and in deference to appeals from the Micro, ‘Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector.’
This extension grants companies an additional four-month period to file their annual returns with the Commission.
The CAC had previously warned that it would remove 94,581 companies from its register for failing to file their annual returns by July 2023.
However, as of November, the number of defaulting companies had been reduced to 91,843.
The statement read: “Further to its earlier notice published on Thursday, 2% November 2023 informing the General Public that it shall commence the full application of the penalties prescribed by the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the Companies Regulations 2021, ‘against Companies and each of their Directors or Officers for failure to file annual returns, the Commission hereby extends the commencement date from 1″ January 2024 to 1″ April 2024.
“This extension has become necessary in view of the glitches presently experienced on the Company Registration Portal (CRP) and in deference to appeals from the Micro, ‘Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector.
“All entities registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, Limited Partnerships, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees) are encouraged to take advantage of the window provided by this extension to file their annual returns to date with the Commission.
“The General Public should please note that this publication/extension of time does not affect the striking-off proceedings commenced by the Commission prior to the publication of Thursday, 2nd November 2023.
“Furthermore, companies, their directors, and officers should note that the commission shall henceforth proceed against directors and officers of struck-off companies for recovery of undischarged penalties against them.”
