Buying and Selling: Ruling on Charging Commission for Importing Goods via Letters of Credit

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Buying and Selling: Ruling on Charging Commission for Importing Goods via Letters of Credit

English:

Question #1528:

Some merchants import goods on behalf of other merchants with bank letters of credit. They also pay the full price of goods to the bank on receipt of the paperwork of the imported goods on behalf of the latter. For this service the first party charges the second, as commission, an agreed amount calculated as a percentage of the total price. Is such a transaction valid?

Answer #1528:

There is no harm in the transaction provided that the merchant imported the goods for himself then sold them to any interested party for a profit that is calculated as a percentage of the total price of the goods.
There is also no harm in the transaction, should the merchant have imported the goods at the request of a particular person for a pay under the title of ju‘ālah with compensation calculated as a percentage of the total price of the goods.
However, if he imported them on behalf of a particular person to get something as compensation for his work as an agency, then for the agency deed to be valid, the amount of money he gets as agency should be specified.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Buying and Selling