Thursday | 28 March 2024 | 17 Ramadhan 1445

Fatwa Answer

Question ID: 1458 Category: Dealings and Transactions
Riba / Interest ?

اسلام علیکم و رحمۃ اللہ و برکاتہ

Please guide me in the following matter:

In the trucking business, factoring company is used to get advance money. They claim to charge a “service fee” of 2 %. The question is that do this “service fee” come under riba / interest ? 

Detail : 

A company (shipper/broker) has some goods (load) to be moved from point A to point B. A Truck Driver can do that. Due to time involved in Finding the shipper/broker, doing the paperwork, followup on payment etc the driver hires a dispatching company which does all this for him for a service fee.( usually 12%). The dispatching company pays the driver weekly for his work. But the shipper/broker pays the dispatching company in 30-45 days. This weekly payment to the driver(s) can go in thousands of dollars and also to secure the payment from the shipper/broker a factoring company is hired by the dispatcher. The factoring company pays the dispatching company the money instantly and they goes to the shipper/broker and collect the money in 30-45 days. For this service it chargers a service fee ( usually 2.5%) . Is this money ( 2.5%) riba/interest ? 


Argument:

A person goes to withdraw money from a bank atm which is not the bank he does banking with. The bank gives him the money instantly, they goes to his bank and gets the money from his bank and for this service they charge him a fixed amount or percentage whichever is greater. In both cases (atm and factoring) either they are both ribs or both are not ribs. 


Please guide me on this matter. جزاك الله خير اًواحسن الجزاء فی الدنیاوالاخرہ

 

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

:الجواب وباللہ التوفیق

It is alright for a factoring company to charge a fee for arranging advance payment to the trucking company or to the driver, provided:

  1. a. It is an amount which can be assessed as “service fee".
  2. b. The ‘service fee’ is set-up separate from the transportation wages. It is not included/merged within the wages.

In absence of above, any service charge will be considered interest.

Per your statement, since the factoring company combines the two and a half percent (2-1/2%) service fee to the amount the shipper owes the trucking company or the driver, it actually becomes a case of Riba (interest).

Service fees charged by the banks and ATMs are of a different nature, therefore, their ruling will be different.

كل قرض جر منفعةً فهو ربا

(الجامع الصغیر للسیوطی، ص:395، برقم :9728، ط: دارالکتب العلمیہ، بیروت)

لعملۃ والخارجیۃ بعملۃ أخری عن طریق المصارفۃ أو الصرف، ویأخذ المصرف عادۃ من المحوّل مبلغا من النقود، وہذا کما تقدم عمل جائز علی أساس أنہ توکیل للمصرف بدفع مبلغ معین لشخص معین وہو توکیل بأجر، فإن انضم إلیہ صرف کان القبض حکمیا وہو جائز، فیحلّ القبض الحکمي محل القبض الحقیقي، والحوالۃ المصرفیۃ تختلف في إجراء اتہا عن السفتجۃ؛ لأن التحویل المصرفي یتم بطریق القید المصرفي بین المصرفین المتوسطین في العملیۃ وتتم المقاصۃ بین المصرفین في الحوالات المقیدۃ لحساب کل مصرف آمر ومأمور الخ۔ (الموسوعۃ الفقہ الإسلامي والقضایا المعاصرۃ ۱۱/ ۴۷۹)

الحالۃ الثانیۃ: أن تقع الوکالۃ في مقابلۃ عوض علی وجہ الإجارۃ، وذلک أن یوکلہ علی عمل معین بأجرۃ معلومۃ أو علی غیر معین في زمن معین الخ۔ (الفقہ علی المذاہب الأربعۃ ۳/ ۲۰۷)

فقط واللہ اعلم بالصواب

Question ID: 1458 Category: Dealings and Transactions