JEDDAH: The Zakah and Income Department has come under fire for alleged lapses in collection of zakah and other dues. The department failed to collect dues from several foreign companies that left the Kingdom without paying amounts running into millions of riyals.
In a recent discussion over the issue, several Shoura Council members asked how the department failed to collect millions of riyals from companies when, on the other hand, individuals are prevented from leaving the Kingdom for not paying small amounts.
The council members urged the department to train officials to track down foreign companies that do not pay their dues, and urged the department to organize a national campaign to enlighten people on the duty of paying zakah.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Al-Mufleh, director general of the Zakah and Income Department, said that his department collected more than SR6.5 billion last year, 40 percent more than the SR4.5 billion collected the previous year, Al-Madinah daily reported on Sunday.
Al-Mufleh attributed the SR2 billion rise to the Kingdom’s rapid economic growth and the department’s efforts to persuade people to pay zakah within the stipulated time. He added that the department intends to implement an e-governance system to improve its efficiency.
“The department is currently studying the launch of an Internet portal for the registration and filing of income statements by people who pay zakah,” the director said.
He also advised people paying zakah to file their income statements and pay their dues within the stipulated time to enable beneficiaries to receive cash on time. The collected zakah is distributed through the Social Security Agency, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The department last year distributed more than SR1 billion to 600,000 deserving families in monthly payments, he added.
Abdul Aziz Mullawi, an economist, said that there are individuals and companies that resort to various deceptive strategies to evade the payment of zakah. He also called on the department to punish accounting companies that prepare accounts to help the evasion of zakah.
“One strategy of zakah evaders is to buy shares and securities shortly before their income becomes eligible for zakah. They do not know that they are playing tricks with Almighty Allah,” said Abdul Majeed Qaddi, a researcher in Islamic economy.
