Government employees getting contracts by direct appointment
Question Some government employees get contracts from the state to carry out specific projects, and this is called direct appointment. In other words, he does the project himself without having to refer to any committees and the like, then when the work is complete and has been done properly, according to what was required of…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
First of
all we should examine the way in which projects are awarded by the state
through direct appointment. If this is done in an open and transparent
manner, without going against the regulations set out by the state, then
there is no problem with it. But if it is done in a manner contrary to the
regulations set out by the state, then this is not Islamically acceptable
and it is not permissible for the employee to embark upon it.
If it is
Islamically acceptable, then we must examine the situation of the employee
(who was awarded the contract):
If he was
acting as an agent on behalf of the government department, then he must
return the surplus money and must try his best to do that; if it is not
accepted from him, then he should spend it in the public interests of the
Muslims.
However,
if he was a contractor appointed by the government department to carry out
the project – and the regulations allow that – then the extra money is his
and is regarded as part of his profits. For example, if they appointed him
to construct a building for one hundred thousand, and he managed to do it
for eighty thousand, then the extra money is his.
As you can
see, this answer is in general terms, as was the question. If you would like
a specific answer, then we need more details about the matter.
And Allah
knows best.
