The Sudanese Customs Administration has implemented a new 14% increase in the customs exchange rate for the US dollar. The customs exchange rate is a key factor in determining the cost of imports and a direct cause of rising prices for consumer goods and production inputs. In reality, it is an indirect tax ultimately paid by the consumer. The customs exchange rate has been raised 9 times since January 2025, from 2,000 Sudanese pounds to 3,222.8 pounds, an increase of 61%. This has significantly impacted commodity prices amidst the ongoing war, which has led to a decline in living standards and a decrease in purchasing power.

We in Hizb ut Tahrir / Wilayah Sudan, in light of this manufactured catastrophic economic situation, affirm the following:

First: There are no customs duties levied on imported goods in Islam, for that is considered unlawful taxation, about which the Prophet (saw) said: «لَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ صَاحِبُ مَكْسٍ»“Sahib maks, meaning one who tithes people, will not enter paradise.” and he said «إِنَّ صَاحِبَ الْمَكْسِ فِي النَّارِ»“Sahib maks is in fire,” Sahib maks is the state.

Secondly: Taxing goods is an indirect tax, and it is forbidden because it contributes to price increases and hardship for people. Regarding this, the Prophet (saw) said: «مَنْ دَخَلَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ أَسْعَارِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ لِيُغَلِّيَهُ عَلَيْهِمْ، كَانَ حَقّاً عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُقْعِدَهُ بِعُظْمٍ مِنَ النَّارِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ»“Whoever interferes in the prices of Muslims in order to raise them for them, it is incumbent upon Allah to seat him in a great fire on the Day of Resurrection.” He (saw) said: «اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ وَلِيَ مِنْ أَمْرِ أُمَّتِي شَيْئاً فَشَقَّ عَلَيْهِمْ فَاشْقُقْ عَلَيْهِ، وَمَنْ وَلِيَ مِنْ أَمْرِ أُمَّتِي شَيْئاً فَرَفَقَ بِهِمْ فَارْفُقْ بِهِ»“O Allah, cause distress to him who has any charge over my people and causes them distress, and be gentle to him who has any charge over my people and is gentle to them.”

Third: Pegging the Sudanese pound to the dollar has made the country financially dependent and deprived it of control over its economy. It has thus fallen under the mercy of institutions of kufr (disbelieving) nations that have no compassion and no regard for our well-being, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The proper course of action is to peg the national currency to gold and silver, given their intrinsic value, in addition to the fact that some Islamic legal rulings (Ahkam Shariah) are linked to gold and silver. Sudan is a country of plundered and squandered gold, a consequence of government policies that see only the people's pockets.

In conclusion: Let the people of Sudan know that their suffering and hardship are not due to the country's poverty, but rather to the application of the kufr West's systems: greedy capitalism. We will not be delivered from this dire situation except by returning to Islam and implementing its rulings concerning finance, the economy, and other matters. This can only be achieved under the Islamic state: The Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly Guided Caliphate), following the methodology of the Prophethood. It alone is capable of transforming our situation from one of manufactured poverty to one of ease and a dignified, prosperous life. So let us strive for this so that we may live with dignity and honor, in the pleasure of the Lord of the Worlds.

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا للهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ]

“O believers! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.” [Al-Anfal 8:24]