Easy Convey: What we do
Easy Convey's online SDLT returns mark the end of long delays, extra costs,
fines and confusion for solicitors and their clients!
As part of the Government's move towards e-conveyancing, HM Revenue and Customs
(HMRC) is now allowing Stamp Duty Land Transaction (SDLT) returns to be submitted
via the Internet, and Easy Convey is very proud to have been recognised by
HMRC to provide conveyancers with a secure method of submitting these Land
Transaction Returns online.
Easy Convey was established in April 2000 to market a range of electronic conveyancing products and services, all of which were developed in-house. By using this technology, conveyancing lawyers can enjoy 50 percent more completions, without increasing staff levels. Easy Convey's unique Conveyancing Administration Software Application (CASA) can significantly reduce conveyancing time for experts working within the property market.
During the development of the SDLT e-submission module in CASA, software developers from Easy Convey worked closely with HMRC's Software Development Support Team in order to make sure that CASA would present all of the electronic information required by HMRC in exactly the right format. As such, Land Transaction Returns submitted electronically by CASA are fully validated before submission and comply with all HMRC standards and specifications.
With Easy Convey, an online SDLT return is extremely simple to process, since CASA allows forms SDLT1, 2, 3, 4 to be completed online, whilst forms 5 and 60 can be printed and submitted to the Land Registry. This functionality means that law firms can submit the SDLT5 certificate with the appropriate form to Land Registry immediately after the SDLT e-submission has been successfully carried out.
To save time, all of the printed SDLT forms, as well as those submitted electronically, are pre-populated where possible, with all of the relevant information required (using data previously gathered as part of the conveyancing process). In fact, with CASA, approximately 60 per cent of the electronic SDLT return is automatically completed, leaving mainly 'yes/no' answers and some codes to be selected form drop-down lists, saving the user from having to enter the same data over and over again. CASA will even automatically calculate the tax liability due on the freehold purchase.
Traditionally, a large number of paper-based forms were returned due to basic mistakes, even where all necessary information has been supplied, leading to delays, extra costs, fines and confusion for solicitors and their clients. However, with Easy Convey's e-submission service, real-time validation of all data makes sure that any errors are caught immediately. In addition, all returns are given a Unique Transaction Reference Number (UTRN), along with a digital receipt for each return successfully filed. Plus, since it is an online transaction, agents will receive instant notification that the return has been received.
Easy Convey's experience and expertise in this area is unrivalled; not only was Easy Convey the first software supplier to obtain HMRC approval for all of the SDLT forms, but one of its clients, solicitors Layard Horsfall, was actually the first law firm in the UK to submit an SDLT return online.
