National campaign: Law Society pushes for changes to 'complex and impenetrable' process


Lawyers hit out this week at claims that they are to blame for delays in the processing of stamp duty land tax (SDLT), as the Law Society launched a national campaign to put pressure on the Treasury to improve the way the tax is administered.


The Society is lobbying for changes to the 'complex and impenetrable' SDLT system, which it claims was introduced with 'unseemly haste'.


One in three SDLT return forms sent by solicitors is sent back by Revenue and Customs (RC), which has blamed solicitors' errors for the mistakes.


Law Society President Edward Nally said: 'We completely reject the proposition that solicitors are not completing the forms properly. But if you create a form that is so complicated, and it is not backed up by the proper helpline resources, errors will be compounded. The scanning, IT and administrative systems at the Revenue should be reviewed urgently.'


Denis Cameron, chairman of the Law Society's conveyancing and land law committee, said: 'The Revenue is wrong to suggest this is solicitors' fault. A lot of the time, forms are returned because of scanning problems in reading handwritten forms.'


The Society will lobby the Treasury to provide proper, consistent and accessible guidance to the profession, which it claims has still not been issued even though the legislation was passed in 2003. It will also campaign for a simplification of the forms required and greater resources for the helpline.


The campaign will include an e-forum for solicitors to let Chancery Lane know about the problems they are experiencing. The campaign already has the backing of City firms through the London Property Support Lawyers Group and the Law Society is also seeking support from the Confederation of British Industry and the British Property Federation.


A RC spokesman said it did not accept that many of the errors stemmed from the complexity of the forms, as the information was largely the same as under the previous system. He said the enquiry line had significantly improved its performance, and there was a new CD-rom version of the form.


Link: www.lawsociety.org.uk