Answer: The Ruling on Taking a Secret Commission (Kickback) in an Import/Indenting Business

Summary Ruling

This practice is Haram (forbidden) and constitutes a form of ghish (deception), khayanah (breach of trust), and riba-based or gharar-based misappropriation of the employer's/company's right. The TK 20 you secretly take back to your personal account is not permissible for you to keep. It must be returned to the rightful owner (the company or the buyer, as the case may be), and you must make tawbah (repentance).

Below is the detailed Shar'i analysis with references from the Qur'an, Sunnah, and authentic Hanafi fiqh works.

1. The Nature of the Transaction You Described

You are an employee/agent of a company. The company imports goods and sells them in Bangladesh. You, in the course of your employment, inflate the purchase price quoted to your company (from TK 100 to TK 120) and arrange for the difference (TK 20) to be returned to your personal account after the company pays the inflated price.

This is, in fiqh terminology, a secret commission taken by an amin (trustee/employee) from the counterparty at the expense of his principal (muwakkil). It falls under several prohibited categories:

1. Khayanah (breach of trust) — you are entrusted with the company's purchasing/importing affairs.
2. Ghish (deception) — the company is deceived about the true price.
3. Rishwah (bribery) in its broad sense — taking money to influence a transaction contrary to the principal's interest.
4. Akhl al-mal bil-batil (consuming wealth unjustly) — explicitly forbidden in the Qur'an.

2. Qur'anic Evidence

(a) Prohibition of consuming wealth unjustly

وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ "And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly..." — Surah Al-Baqarah (2:188)

The TK 20 is the company's/buyer's wealth taken by deception — this is batil (unjust) consumption.

(b) Prohibition of breach of trust

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ أَن تُؤَدُّوا الْأَمَانَاتِ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا "Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due..." — Surah An-Nisa (4:58)

As an employee handling imports, you are an amin. Diverting the price difference to yourself is a direct violation of this command.

(c) Prohibition of deception

وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ "And do not mix the truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]." — Surah Al-Baqarah (2:42)

3. Hadith Evidence

(a) The Hadith of the Kharaj / employee's gift

The Prophet ﷺ said about a tax collector (amil):

مَنْ اسْتَعْمَلْنَاهُ عَلَى عَمَلٍ فَرَزَقْنَاهُ رِزْقًا فَمَا أَخَذَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ غُلُولٌ "Whoever we appoint for a task and we give him a provision (salary), then whatever he takes after that is ghulul (misappropriation)." — Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 2943; Musnad Ahmad

Ghulul is explicitly condemned in the Qur'an (Surah Aal-Imran 3:161) and is one of the gravest sins.

(b) The Hadith on deception in trade

مَنْ غَشَّنَا فَلَيْسَ مِنَّا "Whoever deceives us is not from us." — Sahih Muslim, Hadith 101

Inflating the price to your own company and secretly taking back the difference is deception (ghish).

(c) The Hadith on bribery

لَعَنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الرَّاشِيَ وَالْمُرْتَشِيَ "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes it." — Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3580; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2313; Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1337

The secret commission you take is a form of rishwah because it is money given to influence a transaction against the principal's interest.

(d) The Hadith on the employee's honesty

أَدِّ الْأَمَانَةَ إِلَى مَنِ ائْتَمَنَكَ وَلَا تَخُنْ مَنْ خَانَكَ "Render the trust to the one who entrusted you, and do not betray the one who betrayed you." — Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3535; Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1264

4. Hanafi Fiqh Rulings

(a) Al-Hidayah (Imam al-Marghinani)

In the chapter on Wakalah (agency), the Hanafi principle is established:

الْوَكِيلُ أَمِينٌ فِيمَا فِي يَدِهِ وَلَا يَضْمَنُ إِلَّا بِالتَّعَدِّي "The agent is a trustee (amin) over what is in his hand, and he is not liable except in case of transgression."

But when the agent takes a secret profit (ribh khafi) or commission from the seller without the principal's knowledge, this is transgression (ta'addi) and the agent becomes liable (damin) and the money is haram for him.

(b) Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin, 6/482, Kitab al-Wakalah)

Ibn Abidin (رحمه الله) explicitly discusses the wakil taking a secret commission:

وَلَوْ بَاعَ الْوَكِيلُ بِأَكْثَرَ مِنَ الثَّمَنِ الَّذِي عَيَّنَهُ الْمُوَكِّلُ فَالزِّيَادَةُ لِلْمُوَكِّلِ "If the agent sells for more than the price fixed by the principal, the excess belongs to the principal."

By analogy (qiyas), in your case, the agent (you) is buying on behalf of the principal (company). Any secret benefit you derive from the seller at the principal's expense belongs to the principal, not to you. Taking it secretly is haram.

(c) Fatawa Alamgiri (Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, 3/600, Kitab al-Wakalah)

وَلَا يَجُوزُ لِلْوَكِيلِ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ لِنَفْسِهِ شَيْئًا مِنْ غَيْرِ عِلْمِ الْمُوَكِّلِ "It is not permissible for the agent to take anything for himself without the knowledge of the principal."

(d) Fatawa Usmani (Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Vol. 3, Kitab al-Buyu')

Mufti Taqi Usmani (حفظه الله) has explicitly ruled on secret commissions in import/export and indenting businesses:

"The commission that an employee or agent secretly takes from the seller or buyer, without the knowledge and consent of his principal, is haram and is a form of ghulul and khayanah. It is obligatory to return it to the principal."

He further clarifies that even if the company's policy does not explicitly forbid it, the default Shar'i principle is that an amin cannot benefit from his trust without the principal's informed consent.

(e) Imdad al-Fatawa (Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Vol. 3, Kitab al-Buyu')

Hakim al-Ummah (رحمه الله) states:

"The secret commission (commission khafi) taken by an employee from the seller is haram because it is khayanah (breach of trust). The employee's duty is to procure the best price for his employer. Taking a kickback to inflate the price is a betrayal of this duty."

(f) Bahishti Zewar (Ashraf Ali Thanwi, Part 5, Business Matters)

"If a servant or agent takes a bribe or secret commission from the seller to purchase goods at a higher price for his master, this is haram and the money is khabith (impure). It must be returned."

(g) Fatawa Darul Uloom Deoband

The Darul Uloom Deoband has issued numerous fatwas on this exact issue (secret commission in indenting/import business), consistently ruling it haram. The fatwa states:

"The commission taken secretly by an employee from the foreign supplier/seller, which is not disclosed to the employer, is haram and ghulul. It is obligatory to return it to the employer."

5. Application to Your Specific Case

| Element | Analysis | |---|---| | You are an employee/agent | You are an amin over the company's import affairs. | | You inflate the price | This is ghish (deception) against your employer. | | You take TK 20 secretly | This is khayanah (breach of trust) and ghulul. | | The money goes to your personal account | It is mal batil (unjust wealth) — haram for you. | | The buyer/seller is complicit | Both the giver and taker of the secret commission are sinful (Hadith of Rashi and Murtashi). |

Is there any scenario where it could be halal?

Only if all of the following are true:

1. The company explicitly and in writing permits employees to take a disclosed commission from suppliers, and
2. The company knows the actual price (TK 100) and consents to the arrangement, and
3. The commission is transparent and not concealed.

Since you described it as a secret return to your personal account, none of these conditions are met. Therefore it is unambiguously haram.

6. What You Must Do (Shar'i Remedy)

1. Stop this practice immediately.
2. Return the TK 20 (and all past amounts) to the rightful owner — the company (your employer), since the company paid the inflated price. If the company cannot be identified or reached, give it in sadaqah on their behalf after making tawbah (per the Hanafi principle of radd al-mazalim).
3. Make sincere tawbah (repentance) and resolve never to repeat it.
4. Disclose the arrangement to your employer if possible, and seek a halal salary/commission structure.
5. If your employer explicitly authorizes a disclosed commission, then it becomes halal — but only with full transparency.

7. A Note on "Indenting Business" Generally

The indenting business itself (acting as an agent between foreign supplier and local buyer for a disclosed commission) is halal in Hanafi fiqh, because it is a form of wakalah bil-ujrah (agency for a fee) or bai' with disclosed profit. The haram element is not the indenting business per se, but the secret, undisclosed commission taken at the principal's expense. If the commission is disclosed and agreed upon by all parties, it is permissible.

8. Key Hanafi Principle to Remember

الْأَمِينُ لَا يَضْمَنُ إِلَّا بِالتَّعَدِّي، وَالْخِيَانَةُ تَعَدٍّ "The trustee is not liable except by transgression, and breach of trust is transgression."

And:

كُلُّ قَرْضٍ جَرَّ نَفْعًا فَهُوَ رِبًا (analogously applied) "Every loan that brings a benefit is riba" — by analogy, every trust that brings a secret personal benefit to the trustee is haram.

9. Final Verdict

The practice you described — inflating the import price quoted to your company and secretly receiving the difference (TK 20) into your personal account — is HARAM. It is ghulul, khayanah, ghish, and akhl al-mal bil-batil. The money is not yours; it must be returned to the company, and you must repent. The indenting business itself is halal if commissions are disclosed and consented to by the employer.

And Allah knows best.