Charging a handling fee for refunds

Q: I would like to find out with regards to refunds. 

If a customer purchases 500 bricks and it is loaded with a forklift/hand. When the customers returns the goods, it requires manual labor to offload and palletize. 

Please advise, would it be permissible to charge an offloading fee?

A: It is not permissible to charge the customer a fee for offloading the returned bricks. If a fee is charged, it will not be permissible and it will be regarded as interest.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)