Miscellaneous Issues in Business: Ruling on Charging Extra for Purchasing an Item on Someone’s Behalf
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei
Miscellaneous Issues in Business: Ruling on Charging Extra for Purchasing an Item on Someone’s Behalf
English:
Question #1604:
Someone asking another to buy him a car is commonplace in this day and age. Upon buying the car, the second party asks the first one to top up the purchase price by a particular amount. This extra amount is in return for the effort and time the second party had put into shopping around and getting the best deal. Is such type of a transaction proper?
Answer #1604:
Should the second party act as agent in purchasing the car, it is not within his right to ask for an extra amount over and above the purchase price. That said, he has every right to ask for remuneration for acting as agent. If the second party buys the car with his own money and sells the same to the first party, he has the right to sell it for the price both the parties agree to. It is to be noted, though, that the second party must not lie about the actual purchase price. Yet, lying would not detract from the validity of the sale.