BUSINESS NAME REGISTRATION IN NIGERIA-HOW TO GO ABOUT IT

The registration of your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is one of the requirements of doing business with a name other than your personal name in Nigeria. The Corporate Affairs Commission (www.cac.gov.ng) is the body saddled with the responsibility of regulating the formation and management of companies in Nigeria. In this write-up, I will be explaining the steps involved in registering a Business Name in Nigeria.
The registration of business name under the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990 confers on the proprietor or partners the right to carry out their business under a Business Name. It does not confer any special right or privilege or licence to carry on the business itself. For instance, if I register a hospital with the commission, it doesn’t grant me the right to practice medicine. I still have to obtain the licence from relevant professional bodies. However, it’s very essential to register your business name, especially if your business has prospects for growth to avoid incurring the wrath of the law and unnecessary litigations in future.
To register your Business Name, you can employ the services of a professional or you can do it yourself especially if you have some time to spare. Where professional advice is necessary are for Company Limited by Guarantee (LTD/GTE), Public Liability Company (PLC), Incorporated Trustees etc. I will never forget a woman complaining of paying =N=50,000 to a professional for the registration of her school who keep giving her one excuse or the other. She had no choice than to do it herself.
if you decide to register yours yourself, then these are the steps involved:

     I.      Visit any of the Corporate Affairs Commission offices across Nigeria.
Abuja: Plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguyi Ironsi Street Maitama.
Lagos: 17 Oweh Street Yaba Lagos.
              Jobi Fele way Alausa Ikeja, Lagos.
You can also check their website for their office nearest to you (www.cac.gov.ng or www.cacnigeria.org ).

   II.      Purchase the ‘Availability Check and Reservation of Name Form’ (CAC 1) at the time of writing, it goes for =N=200. You can also download the form here (www.cacnigeria.org/downloads.html ). But I guess you will still need to pay the =N=200 because you need to submit the form with your receipt. The form is as shown in the figure below.

 III.      Fill in your name for ‘Name of Presenter’, your address, email etc. You don’t need to fill anything for ‘Accreditation Number’. Enter your preferred business name for ‘Option One’ and alternative name for ‘Option Two’. In the section ‘The name is to be used for’ Tick the box after ‘Business Name’. Those are the important things, write the date and sign.

 IV.      Submit the form with a copy of the receipt, you will be asked to come back in 14-21 days time.
This is the most challenging stage of the whole process because you can’t proceed to the next stage if your Business Name has not been approved. If both ‘Option 1 and 2‘ fail, you have to buy another ‘Availability Form’. I’m hoping that CAC will automate this process; it would have been a lot easier if you can do all this online. But for now this is how it works.

   V.      After the availability of your Business Name has been established, the Business Name will be reserved for you for 60 days within which you have to complete the registration form. Currently, the Application for Registration of Business Name form goes for =N= 4,000 and file for =N=250. The sample of the form is shown below

 VI.      In this form, you fill in the approved Business Name, the general nature of business, business address, proprietor(s) and partners (if any) etc. You are not expected to fill everything in this form as most of them are for cases where there are multiple proprietors and when a proprietor is less than 18 years old. You also need to submit this form with the receipts, you will be asked to come for your certificate in 14-28 days time.

These are step for your business name registration, however in certain occasions, waivers are granted to these procedures such as during Trade Fairs. In these events, you don’t have to go through all the procedures for determining availability of your business name, hence the process is faster.

Lagos State Land Use Charge- Understanding how it's calculated and who is responsible.

Who is responsible for payment of Land Use Charge?
Who is exempted from the payment of Land Use Charge?
How is Land Use Charge calculated?
When the issue of Land Use Charges arises in Lagos State, lots of residents and even property owners don’t understand the intricacies surrounding the law.

According to the Lagos State Government, the Land Use Charge (LUC) is a consolidation of all land base rates and charges payable under the Land Rate Law, Neighbourhood Improvement Charge Law, and the Tenement Rate Law.
The Land Use Charge being a property tax in Lagos State serves as a source of revenue generation for the government, which enhances the provision of infrastructure and social amenities.

Who is responsible for payment of Land Use Charge?
The Lagos State Land Use Charge Law which was enacted back in 2001 clearly says that any occupier of a property is responsible for the payment of the charge, which can and should be refunded by the property owner. The amount payable is dependent on factors such as the type of property and its use.
Section 10 and 11 of the law states that the collecting authority (That is the Local Government Council Area) may declare any person, including occupier of chargeable property to be the agent of the property owner and such person will become liable for payment of the charge on behalf of the owner from the money due by him or becomes due by him for payment to the owner. The payment of the charge will become recoverable from the agent where the owner defaults in payment.
Section 11 states that the agent will be indemnified against the owner for such payment made by him. Hence, it’s the property owner that is responsible for the payment of the charge and where the tenant pays, such money should be refunded.

What if I didn’t pay in time or don’t pay at all?
Penalties for delayed settlement of the Land Use Charge in section 20 (of the law), with the amount payable as penalty depending on the length of period the payment is delayed.
Delay of between 45 to 75 days attracts 25% of the original charge payable.
Delay of between 76 and 105 days attracts 50% of the original charge payable.
Delay of between 106 and 135 days attracts 100% of the original charge payable.
After 135 days, the property becomes liable to receivership until outstanding taxes, penalties and administrative charges are fully paid.

Penalties put aside, a 15% discount is given to all charges if the bill is paid on time and before certain date which is usually stated on the bill.

Who are exempted?
Some properties are exempted from the payment of the Land Use Charge. Properties exempted include government properties, properties used for religious activities, charitable activities and other public properties.
It must be noted however, that this exemption will only be granted after application for exemption has been made to the Commissioner of Finance of Lagos State. He advices that legal counselling should be sought to specific situation when they arises.

How is LUC calculated?
Where a property is located has nothing to how Land Use Charge (LUC) is calculated. Nevertheless, the location of the property influences the charge since the location determines the market value of the property. The payable charge is always calculated in percentage of the value of the property.
According to the Land Use Charge website, a 5% increase in mile rate for Lagos State Land Use Charge became effective as of January 1^st 2012. The table below shows the categories of properties, the old rate and the new rate.

Category	Old Rate (%)	New Rate (%) [5% increase]
Owner Occupied	0.0375	0.0394
Industrial, Educational and Third party	0.125	0.132
Commercial Revenue Generating	0.375	0.374

For instance, a residential property occupied by the owner with open market value of  N90, 000,000
Current open market value @ 50% of open market value adopted by LRC = 50% of 90,000,000 =   N45,000,000

LUC will be          0.0394% of 45,000,000                    =             N17, 730