Funds of the Commercial Chambers
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Q2: Fatwa No. (9990) dated 24/12/1406 AH, and Fatwa No. (11565) dated 28/11/1408 AH, were previously issued, stating that zakah is obligatory on the balances of commercial chambers once they reach the nisab and a lunar year has passed, because they are owned by their members who are obligated to pay zakah and serve their commercial interests, so their zakah must be paid. A fatwa was also issued by the Eighth Conference of the Conferences on Contemporary Zakah Issues, which was held in Doha in 1998 CE, stating that the funds of scientific, charitable, and social institutions, and those similar to them, fall under the category of waqf (endowment) funds, whether they are public or charitable, and that there is no zakah on them regardless of their source. There is an opinion that holds that commercial chambers and professional bodies, such as the Board of Certified Accountants and the Saudi Council of Engineers, among others, are among the largest scientific, charitable, and social institutions addressed by the aforementioned Eighth Conference fatwa, on which no zakah is due. It is argued that there is no zakah on the funds of commercial chambers and similar entities because the conditions for zakah liability are not met; namely, the intention to make a profit is absent, and there is no capital. Their funds were formed from member subscriptions and fees, and are not owned
by them in a way that allows them to recover any part of it in the event that a subscription lapses for any of the reasons specified in the regulations. Therefore, they are closer to public funds, on which no zakah is due. We hope for a clarification of the Sharia ruling on this matter.
A2: There is no zakah on the funds of commercial and industrial chambers and similar entities, because they are not for trade nor for the shareholders and members of these chambers. If one of these chambers is liquidated and its operations are terminated for any reason, the funds revert to the government. The reason zakah is not obligatory on them is the similarity of these funds to public funds, and there is no zakah on public funds. This is the opinion of the Council of the Senior Scholars, as conveyed to His Excellency the Secretary General of the Commercial and Industrial Chamber in Taif in a letter from His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him), No. (2311/2), dated 5/9/1409 AH.
As for what was previously issued by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, No. (9990) dated 24/12/1406 AH, and No. (11565) dated 28/11/1408 AH, which was referred to in the question, it was based on the assumption that these funds have the ruling of private property. However, the matter was found to be otherwise after hearing the opinions of the specialists.
by them in a way that allows them to recover any part of it in the event that a subscription lapses for any of the reasons specified in the regulations. Therefore, they are closer to public funds, on which no zakah is due. We hope for a clarification of the Sharia ruling on this matter.
A2: There is no zakah on the funds of commercial and industrial chambers and similar entities, because they are not for trade nor for the shareholders and members of these chambers. If one of these chambers is liquidated and its operations are terminated for any reason, the funds revert to the government. The reason zakah is not obligatory on them is the similarity of these funds to public funds, and there is no zakah on public funds. This is the opinion of the Council of the Senior Scholars, as conveyed to His Excellency the Secretary General of the Commercial and Industrial Chamber in Taif in a letter from His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him), No. (2311/2), dated 5/9/1409 AH.
As for what was previously issued by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, No. (9990) dated 24/12/1406 AH, and No. (11565) dated 28/11/1408 AH, which was referred to in the question, it was based on the assumption that these funds have the ruling of private property. However, the matter was found to be otherwise after hearing the opinions of the specialists.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.