Is it permissible to transfer Zakat funds outside the locality where they were collected?

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Transferring Zakat funds outside the locality from which they were collected is permissible only if the poor residents of that locality have sufficient funds or have a surplus beyond their needs. This position is explicitly stated by Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The evidence for this restriction is that the Zakat brought to the Prophet (peace be upon him), Abu Bakr, and Umar was primarily the surplus remaining after the needs of the people of that region were met. A narration through Abu Ubayd relates that Mu'adh ibn Jabal, when in Jund, sent portions of the community's Zakat back to Umar. Umar initially rejected the first third, stating he was sent to collect from the wealthy and distribute to the poor, not to act as a tax collector or Jizya collector. Mu'adh replied that he sent nothing he could find anyone to take. In subsequent years, Mu'adh sent increasing amounts, always justifying it by stating he found no one among the recipients who would take it.