I am from India and I have a query. I work in a telecom company and often i am on business tours. While on business tours company provides local travel conveyance i.e., for hotel to office and vice versa cab charges. Query is if i am out on tour and eligible for local travel conveyance. And i goto office with someone on share or by other means and put a claim to company demanding a certain nominal amount which will be the cost of travel if i take a separate cab anyway, without providing any bill for it. And company approves and pay me that amount will it be halal money or haram money for me. For example, i went to office with my colleague and he books the cab. And we both are eligible for separate travel amounts. Now if i demand from company the travel amount without providing bill which i can do by putting in my expense claim autorickshaw as means of travels. As autorickshaw dont provide any bill here. Will that money be halal or haram. Reason for doing it is that company will anyhow pay the same amount to cab drivers if i book a separate cab. So it will be of no benefit either to me or the company. Instead if i take a lesser amount from company and arrange my travel with other means i will save some amount for myself instead of expending it lavishly and paying to the cab driver. And my company dont ask for details for nominal amount it approves and pay without asking for bills. Under these circumstances can it be done? Please guide
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Respected Brother,
We appreciate your enthusiasm to conduct your dealings in accordance to Shariah.
In principle, there are different methods of travel expenditures.
The method described by you is the “cash” method where the company requires employees to fill out an expense reimbursement report for each expenditure while the employee is on the road.[1]
According to this method, it is impermissible to demand more than one’s expense.
This would lead to lying in the expenses of one’s travel costs and cheating the company.[2]
You may consider requesting the company to adjust its rules to compensate you a standard amount for your travels irrespective of you using any mode of transport instead of compensating you for actual expenses incurred (also known as per diem).[3]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Saad Haque
Student Darul Iftaa
New Jersey, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
[2] سنن الترمذي ١٣١٥
«مَنْ غَشَّ فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا»
[3] https://www.thebalance.com/what-are-travel-expenses-1918280
A per diem is a daily allowance of a certain amount of money that an employee is given to cover all expenses.