The Registrar General of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Bello Mahmud, has disclosed that the commission is currently delisting companies from its database. He said this in an interview with Economic Confidential in Abuja.
“So far, the first batch we delisted were about nine thousand (9000) and in the second batch about thirty-five (35,000) totaling 44,000 firms delisted from our database and is still ongoing”, he said.
According to the Bello Mahmud, this action is on-going as a result of breaches of the Companies and Allied Matters Act and other regulations of CAC by companies. He noted that the most companies either file in returns late or refuse to file at all.
“Unfortunately, these companies are ‘ briefcase’ companies because when you check on the addresses given, you won’t find them.
“If we discover you are not a going concern, the law establishing us gives us the power to delist from our database.
“If we discover and write you first, second and third letter without reply, we now deem it that you are not a going concern and we delist you from our database.” said Bello Mahmud.
A “going concern” is a basic underlying assumption in accounting. The assumption is that a company or other entity will be able to continue operating for a period of time that is sufficient to carry out its commitments, obligations, objectives, and so on.
“We are still compiling the list and before the end of this year you will see more delisted companies”, said Bello Mahmud.