A business name follows a fixed date every year, unlike a company's meeting-linked return. The date is 30 June, and it applies to almost every registered name.
The 30 June cut-off
Section 822 of CAMA 2020 sets the deadline at 30 June each year. Unlike a company's return, this date does not move with a meeting. It is the same day, every year, for every business name on the register.
The one exception is the year the name was first registered. A business name registered in October is not asked for a return in that same calendar year.
Who actually has to file
Every registered business name owes this return once its registration year has passed, whether it is trading briskly or barely used. Proprietors sometimes assume a quiet business is exempt. It is not: a business name has no dormant status that removes the duty.
Partners in the same business name share the record, but the return is filed once for the business name, not once per partner.
Registering more than one business name under your own name does not merge the paperwork either. Each name carries its own registration date, its own registration-year exemption, and its own annual return after that.
What the return reports
The annual return is filed on Form CAC/BN 06. It goes together with a financial statement covering the year from 1 January to 31 December before it.
This pairing catches people out. Some proprietors treat the CAC filing and their own bookkeeping as unrelated tasks, then scramble for the financial statement once the CAC deadline is close.
What happens once 30 June passes
A late return brings a one-off penalty of ₦5,000, charged against the business name itself rather than the proprietor personally. Our guide to the business name penalty covers how that figure is applied and what else follows a missed year.
The regulations also allow a daily default penalty on top of the one-off figure, though filing guides currently describe daily penalties across the board as suspended. Confirm the live position before you calculate a bill by hand.
Where Docufy fits, and where it doesn't
Docufy's vetted partner firm today files company annual returns, not business names. If your business is registered as a business name rather than a limited company, file directly through the CAC portal or with a company secretary experienced in business-name filings.
If you are weighing a business name against a limited company going forward, our guide to registering a company with the CAC is a useful next read. For how the fee itself has changed, see why the business name annual return fee rose, and browse the CAC annual returns hub for the rest of this series. Keep the date on the compliance calendar so 30 June does not creep up on you.