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Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 · Part B · Chapter 21

Section 572Definition of inability to pay debts

A company is deemed to be unable to pay its debts if—
(a)
a creditor, by assignment or otherwise, to whom the company is indebted in a sum exceeding N200,000, then due, has served on the company, by leaving it at its registered office or head office, a demand under his hand requiring the company to pay the sum due, and the company has for three weeks thereafter neglected to pay the sum or to secure or compound for it to the reasonable satisfaction of the creditor ;
(b)
execution or other process issued on a judgment, act or order of any Court in favour of a creditor of the company is returned unsatisfied in whole or in part ; or
(c)
the Court, after taking into account any contingent or prospective liability of the company, is satisfied that the company is unable to pay its debts.
Cite as: Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, section 572

Amended since the gazette

The Business Facilitation Act 2023 changed this section. The text above is the 2020 gazette text. See what changed.

What this section means

From the guide: When is a company unable to pay its debts under CAMA 2020?

  • A company is treated as unable to pay its debts in three cases: a creditor owed more than ₦200,000 serves a written demand and the company neglects it for three weeks, execution of a court judgment is returned unsatisfied, or the court is satisfied that the company cannot pay its debts (section 572).
  • Section 572(a) no longer fixes ₦200,000.
  • For three weeks afterwards the company neglects to pay the sum, or to secure or compound for it to the creditor’s reasonable satisfaction (section 572(a)).
  • Execution or other process issued on a judgment, act or order of any court in favour of a creditor is returned unsatisfied in whole or in part (section 572(b)).
  • The court, after taking account of contingent or prospective liabilities, is satisfied that the company cannot pay its debts (section 572(c)).

Read the whole subject

Source: Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (Act No. 3 of 2020), Official Gazette No. 124, Lagos, 10 August 2020. General information, not legal advice.