Evading the octroi

Question

Question: What is the ruling on bringing goods through the octroi post (the post levying duty on goods brought into a town) of one’s own town without paying the duty? It is, as it were, stealing from the octroi, even though the goods could arrive safely in this way. What is the ruling on evading tax (literally, “stealing tax”) like this?

Answer

Where there is concern for protecting one’s property, there it is also necessary to give thought to protecting one’s honour. “Theft” in the legal sense is likewise no real crime if some tax is taken unjustly (zulman); and if by paying it one’s honour can remain safe, then that too is a boon. One should not put one’s honour at risk in trying to avoid the tax.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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