Question:
Respected Mufti Saheb
Assalamualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
Please advise us as to the Shari’ah ruling on the following issue:
The government has contracted the payment of pensions to a private company. The company (Net 1) has now sub-contracted shop-owners to pay out the pensions to the pensioners.
The system of paying out the pensions is as follows:
The pensioner arrives at the store. After electronic authentication of his fingerprint by means of the on-line machine, the machine prints out a voucher which dictates the amount of pension he is entitled to. He brings the voucher to the cashier who then gives him the money.
In this process, the shop-owner is not allowed by law to charge any fee to the pensioner. However, the shop-owner incurs various costs to provide this service to the pensioner. The main on-going costs are the monthly rental fee for the equipment (the equipment is leased from Net 1 but could be purchased if one wishes to do so) and the cost of airtime for the operating equipment through the GPRS system. Moreover the shop-owner is to pay Net 1 the equivalent of 0.75% of the total amount of pensions paid. It is thus a unique situation where the shopkeeper pays a percentage fee to Net 1 in order to provide a service to a third party which it cannot charge any fee. It should also be noted that Net 1 does not advance any money to the shop-owner. The shop-owner instead pays out the pensions directly. Thereafter Net 1 credits his account with the amount he has paid out.
Despite the above situation, shop-owners are willing to provide the service as a means of attracting people into the store in the hope that they will purchase something there from. However, since much costs are incurred, in order to recoup these costs (by means of profit on sales) the shop-owner informs the pensioner prior to him commencing with the process that should he wish to receive his pension at the store, he must purchase goods from the store for at least 20% of the amount paid to him. If he does not agree, he is free to claim his pension elsewhere (including the state pension payment point).
The question that arise are:
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Is it allowed in terms of Shari’ah to provide this service under the terms mentioned?
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Can the shop-owner stipulate that if the pensioner wishes to receive his money at the store, he will have to make purchases to the value of 20% of the amount dispensed to him?
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If the abovementioned terms of Net 1 are incorrect, how can the contract be restructured so that it complies with the Shari’ah? Furthermore, if stipulating a minimum amount that a pensioner must purchase for is not valid, is there any other permissible way of recurring the costs incurred?
Please reply urgently. Your detailed response will be much appreciated.
Wassalaam
Answer:
Fatwaa no. 154/05
الجواب حامدا و مصليا
The scenario mentioned in your question is correct and the shop owner is allowed to stipulate, that if the pensioner wishes to receive his money at the store, he will have to make purchases to the value of 20% of the amount dispensed to him, provided the shop owner does not ask for a higher price from the pensioner on his products which are sold at a reasonable rate to other customers.
The reason for it being lawful is because this stipulation is for recouping the costs incurred by providing such a service. The shop owner is not obliged to provide this service neither is the pensioner compelled to receive his pension from a specific shop, but he is free to claim his pension elsewhere.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best
Mufti Muhammad Ashraf
Darul Iftaa
Jameah Mahmoodiyah
Springs
28 May 2005
19 Rabee’uth Thaani 1426