A conveyancing solicitor went through the rigmarole of registering with HM Revenue & Customs as a tax adviser – only to discover three months later that she was not registered and has to go through the process all over again. The frustration was revealed today at the Law Society’s property conference, which also identified other challenges down the line that will make conveyancers’ jobs unnecessarily difficult.

Tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of clients must now register with HMRC – a requirement that captures conveyancers who submit stamp duty land tax returns on behalf of clients. The Law Society fought for conveyancers to be exempt from the requirement, arguing that it placed an ‘additional and unnecessary administrative burden’ on its members.

Sushila Abraham, sole principal at Surbiton firm S Abraham Solicitors, told the conference that she registered as a tax adviser in July. She was told that if she did not hear back from HMRC in 14 days, she was registered.

Last week, Abraham had to make a payment in relation to a probate matter - only to be told by HMRC that she was not an agent. ‘HMRC allowed me to proceed to make a payment as a guest. I then had to reapply to be an agent and will hear in November,’ Abraham said.

Meanwhile Society president Mark Evans said the government’s plans to seize client account interest will lead to high street firms being accused by clients of stealing their cash. Evans told the conference he made this point personally to justice secretary Alex Norris last week. 'I said to him that as a frontline practitioner, having to explain to a client that their money is going to the government, they’re going to say, “What have you done with my money, Mark?” They will blame me for handing their money to the government.’

Clients, especially in small towns and rural areas, would then go around telling people, ‘that lawyer steals your money', Evans predicted.

The government has yet to announce a final decision on the controversial policy.