Trading in Computer Programs: How to Pay Zakah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q: I have a company for programming and designing websites and computer programs. We create programs for those who request them for an agreed-upon amount, or we develop programs and then advertise them in newspapers or on the internet, and we continue to sell copies of them multiple times throughout the year. However, we do not retain the value of these programs we sell; rather, we spend it on salaries, and we withdraw the remainder from the company account for our personal expenses. Nothing remains of the revenue to complete a lunar year, and in total, it amounts to (200,000) per year if it were not spent. First question: Is there zakah due on these programs of ours that we offer for sale? And if there is zakah on them, is the zakah calculated on the value of a single copy? Since we do not put them on discs or CDs, but rather we create a disc for the customer or install it on his device when he buys it. Second question: Is there zakah due on the programs we create for their owners according to their request, or what is called a (contract of manufacturing), without offering them for sale?
A: First: The fee collected in exchange for creating programs and designing websites for those who request them has no zakah due on it, unless a lunar year passes over it
while it is in your possession, in which case zakah becomes obligatory on it. Second: Programs that are prepared, copied onto computer discs, and offered for sale have zakah due on them if a lunar year passes over them; because they are from the goods of trade intended for sale and purchase for the purpose of earning a livelihood. If a lunar year passes, the programmed or unprogrammed discs are separated and their value is estimated at what they are worth at the completion of the lunar year, regardless of the cost price, and one-quarter of a tenth (2.5%) is paid from the estimated value. Third: Zakah is obligatory on the money obtained from selling the discs and programs if a lunar year passes over it, but if it is spent before a lunar year passes over it, there is no zakah on it. Fourth: There is no zakah on devices that are not prepared for sale but are used as tools for producing programs, because they are prepared for use, not for sale.
A: First: The fee collected in exchange for creating programs and designing websites for those who request them has no zakah due on it, unless a lunar year passes over it
while it is in your possession, in which case zakah becomes obligatory on it. Second: Programs that are prepared, copied onto computer discs, and offered for sale have zakah due on them if a lunar year passes over them; because they are from the goods of trade intended for sale and purchase for the purpose of earning a livelihood. If a lunar year passes, the programmed or unprogrammed discs are separated and their value is estimated at what they are worth at the completion of the lunar year, regardless of the cost price, and one-quarter of a tenth (2.5%) is paid from the estimated value. Third: Zakah is obligatory on the money obtained from selling the discs and programs if a lunar year passes over it, but if it is spent before a lunar year passes over it, there is no zakah on it. Fourth: There is no zakah on devices that are not prepared for sale but are used as tools for producing programs, because they are prepared for use, not for sale.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.