Review of the Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2023

The Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2022 (now referred to as the “Business Facilitation Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2023” and hereinafter referred to as “The Act”) was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on February 13, 2023.

The Act being the first business facilitation law to be enacted by the Nigerian Legislature is aimed at providing for the ease of doing business, ensuring transparency, efficiency and productivity in Nigeria.

The Act codifies the Executive Order No.001, 2017 and amends 21 (twenty-one) pertinent business-related laws to facilitate conducting business and institutionalize necessary improvements to facilitate implementation. The legislations amended by the Act includes: The Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, The Nigerian Export Promotion Council Act, The Customs and Excise Management Act, The Foreign Exchange(Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, Immigration Act, Trade Marks Act, National Office For Technology Acquisition and Promotion Act, Investment and Securities Act, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act, Financial Reporting Council Act, Patents and Designs Act, Industrial Inspectorate Act, National Housing Fund Act, Nigerian Custom Service Board Act, Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, National Planning Commission Act, Industrial Training Fund Act, Export(Prohibition) Act, Nigerian Port Authority Act, Nigerian Custom Service Board Act, Patents and Designs Act, Standard Organization of Nigeria Act, Pension Reform Act.

This Article highlights the salient changes and implementation introduced by the Act. The provisions of the Executive Order No. 001 codified by the Act include;