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About Zakat Zakat is the third pillar of Islam, and the most important financial worship, and therefore often quoted in the Holy Quran. It is one of the most important pillars that distinguishes the Muslim community from others. It is a manifestation of the supremacy of Islamic legislation; as it represents a useful means to fight poverty and alleviate the suffering of the needy, leading to social solidarity in general. 1.2. Collection of Zakat As an indication of the great status of Zakat in Islam; the state is entrusted with administering and supervising the collection of Zakat on declared funds and its distribution to the needy. The state is authorized to collect the Zakat on the declared funds and distribute it to the eligible ones, by entrusting some workers (employees engaged for Zakat collection purposes) to go through the owners of funds, throughout the Islamic state, calculate the amount of Zakat and then collect it from them, and oversee the disbursement and distribution to eligible persons. The General Authority of Zakat & Tax (the Authority) is responsible for levying and collection of Zakat. All procedures relating to the Zakat account of the Zakat payer, from the registration of the Zakat payer, to the process of calculating the amount of Zakat, which includes supervising the submission of Zakat declarations, payment procedures, examination of data provided, and verification by the Authority’s staff, until issuance of the final Zakat certificate, including the investigation of any objections that may be raised by the Zakat payer with regard to the Authority’s assessment. 1.3. Application of Zakat Collection in Saudi Arabia The collection and disbursement of Zakat to the beneficiaries is one of the basic tasks of the state, which is stipulated in the Basic Law of Governance, as stated in Article (21): (Zakat shall be collected and spent as prescribed by the Islamic Shari‘ah). Article (7) thereof indicated that the state shall take care of Islamic Shari‘ah obligations in general, which include levying of Zakat and its disbursement to the designed beneficiaries, where it states: (Governance in the Kingdom of