New Registration Template for Economic Zones Effective Jan 2021

New Registration Template for Economic Zones Effective Jan 2021

James Emejo in Abuja
The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Export Processing Zones (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba has said the agency will commence the implementation of a new template for Free Zone registration from January 1, 2021.

He said the move was line with the federal government’s focus on improving the ease of doing business in the country.
He explained: “The new registration process, which I am proposing to take off from 1st January 2021, will make the process of registering a free zone company more efficient and attractive for potential investors without compromising the integrity of the system.
“There are two plans outlined, one is to be adopted immediately and the other to be implemented in the next 6-12 months”.

Adesugba added that, “It is imperative that we continue to make timely process improvements such as this, in order to generate goodwill for the Authority and position our Free Zones as an attractive investment location to a wide range of investors.”

According to him, the steps leading to successful registration listed for adherence in the short term entails that “NEPZA will allow the official submission of registration documents by clear scanned signed copy to emails of the Zone Administrators.

“This email should then be forwarded to the team at NEPZA HQ instantaneously for processing. Once received by Email, the documents should be processed, and a virtual screening meeting scheduled within 24hours.

“Once the application is approved, Certified True Copies (CTC) of the scanned signed documents and the NEPZA registration certificate should be sent to the Zone Administrator on behalf of the newly registered Enterprise.
“The Zone Manager will then submit the original documents to the Zone Administrator and collect the CTC documents and NEPZA Registration certificate on behalf of the new Enterprise.”

In a statement by Head, Corporate Communications, NEPZA, Martins Odeh, the NEPZA boss, however, said the federal government is meticulously laying enduring foundation for the industrialisation of the country.

Addressing global business audience via web conference at the 5th Annual Meeting of the Africa Economic Zones Organisation recently, he said the Dangote Industries Free Zone, Lekki, Lagos and a host of other private zones with a cumulative investment of over $20 billion provided the country with a firm foundation toward realising its roadmap towards industrialisation.

Related Articles