A question regarding discrepancies in cash accounting.
[AR_ID:3622]
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1 Answer
Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.
Ayatollah Al-Sistani (may God protect him):
In the case of a deficit, you are not liable if you have not been negligent in your duties. However, if there was a condition requiring you to compensate for the loss or the value of the deficit, then that condition is valid and must be adhered to.
As for the surplus, it is considered property of an unknown owner. If you know the owner is pleased with your handling of it, you may act accordingly. Otherwise, you must search for the owner as long as there is a possibility of benefiting from that. If you know that searching will not be beneficial, you should keep the property safe for its owner. If you lose hope of finding the owner, you may give it as charity, evaluate it for yourself, or sell it and give the proceeds as charity. It is advisable to do this with the permission of the legal authority, and if the owner later appears and does not agree to the charity, you are obliged to compensate them as a precaution.
Source: Al-Minhaj Al-Salihin, Book of Leasing + Al-Minhaj Al-Salihin, Rulings on Lost Property.
Ayatollah Al-Khamenei (may God protect him):
In the case of a deficit, you are not liable unless there is a condition requiring compensation even without negligence, in which case you must adhere to it.
As for the surplus, it is property of an unknown owner, and it is not permissible to take it or claim it; if you do, you are considered a usurper and liable unless it is at risk of damage, in which case you may take it for safekeeping, and it will then be a legal trust in your possession, and you are only liable for negligence or misconduct. In either case, whether permissible or not, you must search for the owner until you lose hope of finding them, at which point you must give it as charity or sell it and give the proceeds as charity. If it is something that may spoil and cannot be kept, you should sell it or evaluate it and spend it, and it is advisable to do so with the permission of the authority if possible, and after losing hope of finding the owner, you should give the proceeds as charity.
Source: Tahrir al-Wasilah: Issue 4 + Issue 44.
May you be successful in all good.