Regulatory & Compliance Update: The National Action Plan On Ease Of Doing Business In Nigeria

On February 21, 2017, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council approved a 60-day National Action Plan on the ease of doing business in Nigeria (the “Plan”).  Almost midway into the life of the Plan, we provide you with a summary of the Plan and some of the notable intended changes that have occurred.

The Plan focuses on the following 8 areas of doing business in Nigeria:

• Starting a business

• Obtaining construction permits

• Getting electricity

• Registering landed property

• Getting credit

• Paying taxes

• International trade

• Entry and exit of people

On starting a business, the objective is to drastically reduce the number of days required for business registration from 10 days to a 48hrs. To this end, the Plan intends to: automate the incorporation process; integrate the FIRS\’ e-payment solution with the CAC\’s online platform; and consolidate the hitherto 7 incorporation forms into 1. The last of the initiatives has recently been achieved.

See our Regulatory Compliance Update at: https://ao2law.com/2017/03/01/nigerias-corporate-affairs-commission-cac-list-of-registered-companies-to-de-listed 

On construction permits,  Lagos State will be the pilot case with the objective being to reduce the number of days required to obtain construction permits from 42 to 20 days. The Plan intends to: ensure a web-based platform to submit applications for construction permits; publicise construction fees, procedures and laws; and eliminate soil tests for constructions below 4 storey buildings and EIA tests for low scale constructions. 

On registering property titles, the Plan aims to reduce the number of days required to register property from 77 to 30 days. To this achieve this, the Plan intends to: consolidate current multiple payments into one; consolidate and publicise the complaint mechanism of the registration process; and reduce the time for Governor\’s consent through the introduction of electronic signature of Governor’s consent and delegation of the consent powers to Commissioners.

On obtaining credit, the objective of the Plan is to give medium small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) more access to credit at ultimately cheaper rates. The Plan envisages new laws which will allow movable assets as collateral; provide a legal framework for the operation of credit bureaus; and allow online searches of credit history by interested parties.

On international trade, the Plan aims to reduce the export and import time by 50%. To this end, the Plan intends to: mandate the use of pallets for all imports; ensure optimal offloading of cargo; optimize pre-shipment process for exports; and ensure single point of contact for cargo examination.

On the entry and exit of people, the Plan aims to achieve a 48hrs Visa processing timeline and improved traveller\’s experience. To plan proposes to: simplify the Visa on arrival process including by allowing the submission of applications and receipt of approval letters by email; have a single form for the departure and arrival of non-Nigerians; improve the infrastructure at the Lagos and Abuja International Airports; and eliminate the manual search of baggage.

We note that the Plan has not provided details on getting electricity and paying taxes. We would expect that this to be done even though we are almost mid-way into the life of the Plan. That said, our current take is that If the Plan is properly implemented, Nigeria will sure move upwards in the World Bank Index on the ease of doing business and ultimately improve domestic and foreign investments in the Country.

For further information on the foregoing, please contact us by email: ao2alert@ao2law.com with the subject: \”The National Action Plan on Ease of Doing Business”