Question:
I have a food catering business. Is Zakat due on the packaging used? For example, food containers, carrier bags etc?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Answer:
If one is billing and charging customers for packaging, the packaging will be a Zakatable business asset. If customers are not billed nor charged for the packaging, packaging will not be Zakatable[1].
If packaging is treated as an overhead expense and is not billed directly to the customers, the packaging will not be Zakatable. In such a scenario, it will be considered as though one gifts packaging and thus, it is not a Zakatable asset.
The Fiqh (jurisprudence of the answer):
Goods purchased to resell become Zakatable business assets. Such assets are Zakatable. Therefore, packaging purchased to resell becomes Zakatable.
And Allah Ta’ālā Alone Knows Best
Mufti Faraz Adam,
www.darulfiqh.com
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