Should I Pay Zakat on Trade Goods Even If I Can’t Find Buyers?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas
Question: I bought some trade goods, but they have a very small online market which is hard to reach. I’ve tried selling them on an online forum without success. Are these goods zakatable each year until I establish a successful website and insha’Allah start selling them?
Answer: assalamu `alaykum
Zakat is due on trade goods. For something to be considered a trade good, a clear and firm intention of it being so needs to be present at the time the good is purchased. If one purchased the good without the intention of it being a trade commodity, Zakat would not be due upon it, even if the intention was changed later on. [Sarakhsi, Mabsut; Kasani, Bada`I al-Sana`I; Haskafi, Durr al-Mukhtar]
If this is the case with the items you mention, Zakat will be due upon them.
Salman
Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.