The octroi duty

Question

Question: Two Muslims, at different times and each separately, mentioned to me, the humble one, that paying the octroi duty — that is, the duty levied on the import of goods — is impermissible. For example, if a person brings a goat from some village into the city of Saharanpur, whether intending to sell it or to rear it, the Saharanpur revenue department (the municipality) will take a few paise (small copper coins, fractions of a rupee)

Answer

The octroi as currently practised is oppression (zulm); and just as oppression is impermissible and haram, so too is aiding oppression impermissible, and paying the octroi aids oppression. Therefore it is impermissible.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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