Trust and Company Service Providers
At the end of March the Society deferred the deadline for solicitors' firms registering such companies until 31st May in line with HMRC, who had said they would be updating the guidance on their
website in respect of such providers. HMRC's guidance states "you will not need to register with us if your practice will be supervised by one of these legal or accountancy professional bodies" and The Society is one of the bodies mentioned. The purpose of registration, which is set out in Reg 24 of the2007 Regulations, is monitoring by the supervisory authority, and the only power to monitor which The Society has under the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 is in respect of sole practitioners, firms of solicitors, and incorporated practices.
It remains the Society’s position that if a firm has one or more of these ancillary companies, its activities are not "monitored" by the Society unless it (the company) is recognised in its own right as an Incorporated Practice under our
Rules. If firms wish The Society to be the supervisory authority for such a company under Part 4 of the 2007 Regulations we will accept applications for recognition as an Incorporated Practice up to and including 31st May 2008 and will restrict the fee to £400 in total for any number of companies a firm wishes to register.
Bruce Ritchie
Director, Professional Practice
Law Society of Scotland
