CAC annual returns: what happens if you miss it
Every registered business owes an annual return, whether it traded or not. Here is the deadline, the penalty, and how a dormant company still gets caught.
Annual returns are the filing most business owners forget, because nothing chases you for them until the day you need something from the CAC and cannot get it.
Who has to file
Every company and business name on the register. It does not matter whether you traded, made a profit, or touched the account at all. A dormant company still owes a return for every year it has existed.
When it is due
A company: within 42 days of its annual general meeting
A business name: no later than 30 June each year
Newly registered: your first return is not due in the year you registered
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What it costs to be late
The filing fee is modest. The penalty is not, because it accrues per year outstanding rather than as a single fine. A business three years behind pays three penalties, and the total usually exceeds what the filings themselves would have cost.
The part that catches people
An outstanding return puts your status on the register out of date. That surfaces at the worst possible moment: opening a corporate account, bidding for a contract, taking on an investor, or applying for anything that asks for a status report. Banks and procurement teams check.
You can see where your own business stands from the compliance checklist on your dashboard, which tracks what is outstanding and what is next.
