WHAT IS ANNUAL RETURNS FILING?
Annual returns is a yearly payment expected to be paid by every registered company and NGO’s in
Nigeria. Annual returns is paid to the corporate affairs commission whether or not a company did any
business transaction. Late filing of returns attracts a penalty and the penalty must be paid along with the original
filing fee.
WHY PAY ANNUAL RETURNS
The corporate affairs commission has made it mandatory for a company to fully file all pending annual
returns before conducting any post-incorporation services on their company. Post-incorporation services
are any changes made on a company after registration.
Another reason to file your annual returns is to update your company status from inactive to active on
the cac public search. This is important because the embassy will reject any visa with an inactive
company. Go to cac public search to check the status of your company.
Also, a company that doesn’t pay annual returns after a long period of time might be deleted from the
CAC database and hence seizes to exist.
WHEN TO PAY ANNUAL RETURNS
We will explain each category so you can identify the right time to pay your annual returns and to know
when payment will attract late filing fees.
All registered business name of a year is due by 31st December of that year. Business names annual
returns are to be paid from January to june of the following year after the registration year. That means that
a company registered in 2019 ought to pay their annual returns by January 2020 or latest june 2020 to
avoid penalty. It dosent matter the day or month in which the business name is registered in the
previous year. All payments made from july will attract a penalty for late filing.
Limited liability is due for annual returns 18 months after the month of registration. All limited liability is
given a grace period of 18 months before they are due to pay annual returns, unlike business name that
is due by the end of the registration year. That means if a company is registered in October 2019, it will be due
for annual returns by march 2022. The annual returns must be paid within 6 months after the due date to
avoid penalty. Please note that the grace period is only after the registration year, afterwards all payment must
be made accordingly every year.
Incorporated trustees is same with business name.
HOW MUCH IS ANNUAL RETURNS
Annual returns fees are different for the three major categories of certificates. That is business name,
limited liability company and incorporated trustees. The various fees and penalty for late filing is as
follows:
| CATEGORY | FILING FEE | PENALTY FOR LATE FILING | TOTAL LATE FILING FEE |
| BUSINESS NAME | ₦ 3000 | ₦ 5000 | ₦ 8000 |
| LIMITED LIABILITY | ₦ 5000 | ₦ 5000 | ₦ 10,000 |
| INCORPORATED TRUSTEES | ₦ 10,000 | ₦ 5000 | ₦ 15,000 |
HOW TO PAY ANNUAL RETURNS
The annual returns payment is made on post.cac.gov.ng. This is the post-incorporation portal of the
corporate affairs commission where all changes after registration can be made. you are to use the same
login details as the one used during your company registration unless you are an accredited agent.
Simply follow the step-by-step instruction to pay your annual returns;
1. After clicking the link, provide your login details and login
2. Click on the annual returns option
3. Click on start annual returns filing, click continue.
4. Fill all company information on the form provided and submit
5. Proceed to make payment, after payment you will be redirected back to the CAC portal
6. Click on document uploads
7. Do not submit any document, simply click on submit and then you will be redirected to
the dashboard and your application will move from not submitted to pending approval.
8. Repeat the process for each year.
9. Keep checking your dashboard to confirm the query or approval
10. If queried, read the instructions of the query and answer accordingly.
11. when approved, download your acknowledgement letter
you have now successfully paid your annual returns.
HOW TO CHANGE COMPANY STATUS FROM INACTIVE TO ACTIVE
After paying your annual returns and downloading your acknowledgement letter you will notice that
your company status will not change from inactive to active immediately. That is in the case where it was
inactive before filing. In this situation what you have to do is send a mail to spu.cac.gov.ng. attach all
your acknowledgement letters and simply request that your company status be changed from inactive
to active. Keep checking the status afterwards to confirm the change of status.
NB: If you need assistance in filing your annual report kindly reach out to us through any of our contact information on the website. we will be happy to help.