Profit-Based Pricing of Electricity Tokens In Street Markets Under Perfect Competition: A Wakalah Bil Ujrah Contract Analysis from Peukan Baro, Pidie Regency, Indonesia

Abstract

This study is motivated by the practice of selling electricity tokens in the street markets of Peukan Baro Sub-district, Pidie Regency, which reveals a discrepancy between the legal norms of Islamic economics and the community’s economic realities. The research questions in this study cover three main points: how street vendors sell electricity tokens; how pricing and profit mechanisms operate in these transactions; and the relevance of applying the wakalah bil ujrah contract in a perfectly competitive market. This study employs an empirical legal method with a qualitative approach through interviews and observations of electricity token vendors, as well as an analysis of secondary data from Islamic economic law literature and relevant regulations. The research findings indicate that the practice of selling electricity tokens is not yet fully aligned with the principles of wakalah bil ujrah due to a lack of transparency in determining ujrah and profit mechanisms. Pricing is set freely without adequate oversight from the relevant authorities, thereby creating price disparities among traders. The study’s conclusion emphasizes the need for a legal reconstruction of Islamic economic law within the wakalah bil ujrah contract mechanism to align with modern market dynamics. Clearer regulations and a fair oversight system are required to ensure a balance between traders’ rights and consumer interests.