Question:
If a person owns merchandise, will Zakāt be calculated based on the cost price or the selling price? And if it is based on the selling price, but he later sells it for less what happens?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-Salāmu ʿAlaykum Wa-Raḥmatullāhi Wa-Barakātuh
If a person owns merchandise for the purpose of trade, Zakāt is calculated based on its selling price on the Zakāt due date. The valuation is determined according to the price at which the goods can reasonably be sold, and Zakāt is then paid at 2.5% of that amount. Accordingly, if the goods are later sold for a lesser amount, this does not affect the Zakāt that was already due.[1]
And Allah Taʿāla Knows Best.
Baba Abu Bakr
Student –Darul Iftaa
Accra, Ghana
Checked and Approved by
Mufti Muhammad Zakariyya Desai
