Plans to strike off tax defaulting firms in accordance with law

By Saby Elemba in Owerri.

Recently, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) announced plans to delist about 100 business registered names and 10 corporations from its register for defaulting in paying taxes, however, that plan was misunderstood by some people, saying that it is a means of generating funds by the Corporate Affairs  Commission. 

However, in a clarification, Garba Abubakar, registrar general and chief executive officer, Corporate Affairs Commission, said the aim is not to raise funds for the commission rather it is in accordance with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters  Act (2020).

According to Abubakar, “about 100 business names and 10,000 incorporated trustees that have defaulted in the last 10 years will soon be published for striking off from the companies register.

“This is in accordance with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (2020)”.

The CEO of the Corporate Affairs Commission  said that those  companies  that had been earmarked for delisting from the  register of companies  and, which CAC has notified,  were expected to comply within 90 days, failing which they would be delisted.

The information as well as the proper explanation came when the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) visited him.

The move, he informed, was also designed to engender compliance and strengthen CAC’s records in line with the Beneficial Ownership Register (BOR) and to be in conformity with international best practices.

Meanwhile, Funmi Ekundayo, ICSAN’s president, had earlier expressed the institute’s willingness to collaborate with the CAC to further enhance service delivery.

She equally commended the reforms and initiatives of the CAC, which, she noted, had led to improved service delivery.