Issue Needs More Clarifications to be Dealt With
20-4-2020 | IslamWeb
Question:
Salam alaykoum
I work as a staff accountant with a company that resells computer hardware and software as well as provide IT service.
One of my duties is to pay the corporate taxes. Because the company is a start up company we are trying to get everything smoothed out but some corporate taxes have been missed for some states, I’ve gotten late filing notices which come with a late fee and some add interest on top of that fee. A CPA firm does the return which they sometimes file and just ask me to pay or sometimes they ask for me to send the return with check payment or send the return and do an online payment to the state.Is me paying the late fee haram? Is paying the interest haram?
I also take care of a prepaid account. When Accounts Payable pays a bill for health insurance bill (for all employees) they post the payment to the prepaid account. Every month I breakd down the health insurance bill by department a and expense it. Life insurance for the officers is prepaid. We get a quarterly bill that when it’s paid gets posted to the prepaid account, once a month I expense a month’s worth for the officer insurance. Is duty halal or haram? If my duties are haram what do you suggest I do?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Issuing a judgment on any given matter is based on grasping it, and you mentioned a number of questions without details. Passing a judgment as to whether or not they are permissible requires forming a complete picture of them first. The late fees may be regarded as financial penalties imposed as a discretionary punishment, and they may be considered Riba (interest). Moreover, some categories of health insurance are permissible, especially for Muslim communities living in the West. The resolution of the European Council for Fatwa (6-7) states: "There are situations and environments that entail finding solutions to address special conditions and meet their requirements, especially the case of the Muslims in Europe, where commercial insurance prevails, and there is a dire need to benefit from it in order to prevent the dangers to which they are often exposed in their daily life in all its forms, along with the lack of an Islamic alternative – Takaaful (cooperative) insurance – and the difficulty to find it at the present time…"
Therefore, you should consult a scholar (in your country) directly regarding this issue or refer the question to the Fatwa Councils in these countries; they are better aware of the situation of the Muslim communities. Verily, understanding the surrounding circumstances is of great importance and influence when issuing a Fatwa.
Allah Knows best.