Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The mentioned commercial company is subject to zakat on trade goods (ʿUrūḍ At-Tjārah). At the end of the lunar (Hijri) year, the goods and profits must be valued, and the company must add to that the cash available in bank accounts and in hand.
Receivable debts owed to the company—including what is known as checks under collection—are also considered part of the zakatable assets. It should be noted that the creditor is not required to pay zakat on a deferred debt until it is received. However, the creditor may either record the zakat amount due each year and pay it from currently available funds, or delay the zakat payment until each portion of the debt is collected and then pay the zakat due on that amount at the time of receipt.
As for the debts owed by the company, they are not to be deducted from the zakat calculation.
It is also important to note that the company’s capital is already accounted for within the valuation of inventory, cash, and other assets, and therefore should not be calculated again.
Accordingly, the partners must, at the end of each zakat year, evaluate the merchandise held for sale, the business profits, and the cash in the bank and on hand. To this, they should add any checks under collection. Then, zakat is to be paid at the rate of 2.5 percent of the total value. And Allah Almighty Knows Best.
