PROPOSAL/OFFER

BY KIRAN KHATRI

MEANING OF OFFER SECTION 2(a)

When person signifies to another his willingness , To do or to abstain from doing anything, With a view to obtaining assent of that other to such an act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal. An offer is synonymous with proposal. Person who makes the offer- Offeror/ Promisor Person to whom offer is madeOfferree/Promisee.

KINDS OF OFFER
1) GENERAL OFFER: It is made to public at large.
Celebrated case of :Carlill vs. Carbolic Smoke Ball.

2)SPECIFIC OFFER: It is made to definite person. 3)CROSS OFFER: When two parties exchange identical offer. 4)COUNTER OFFER: Qualified acceptance of offer subject to modifications and variations. 5)STANDING/OPEN/CONTINUING OFFER: Allowed to remain open over a period of time. 6)EXPRESS/IMPLIED OFFER
Case law: Wilkie v. London Passenger Transport Board.

RULES TO OFFER
THERE MUST BE TWO PERSONS OFFER MUST BE COMMUNICATED.
Case laws: Lalman v Gauri Dutta(1913) and Fitch v Snedaker(1868).

OFFER MUST BE CAPABLE OF CREATING LEGAL RELATIONS Case laws: Gould v Gould (1970) and Balfour v
Balfour(1919)

THE TERMS OF THE OFFER MUST BE DEFINITE AND CERTAIN

Case law Scammel v. Ouston (1941)

Balfour v Balfour(1919)
Mr. Balfour was a civil engineer, and worked for the Government as the Director of Irrigation in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Mrs. Balfour was living with him. In 1915, they both came back to England during Mr. Balfour's leave. But Mrs. Balfour got rheumatic arthritis. Her doctor advised her to stay, because a jungle climate was not conducive to her health. As Mr. Balfour's boat was about to set sail, he promised her 30 a month until he came back to Ceylon. They drifted apart, and Mr. Balfour wrote saying it was better that they remain apart. In March 1918, Mrs. Balfour sued him to keep up with the monthly 30 payments. In July she got a decree and in December she obtained an order for alimony. At first instance, Sargeant J held that Mr. Balfour was under an obligation to support his wife.

Haeckel Ceylon Jungle River

RULES TO OFFER
OFFER MUST BE MADE WITH A VIEW TO OBTAINING ASSENT. OFFER SHOULD NOT BE SUCH THAT THE NONCOMPLIANCE OF WHICH MAY BE ASSUMED TO AMOUNT TO ACCEPTANCE. AN OFFER MAY BE DISTINGUISHED FROM:

A STATEMENT OF PRICE IS NOT AN OFFER

Harvey Vs Facey Harvey telephoned to Facey asking the latter to inform him whether he would sell Bumper Hall Pen and if so, at what price. Facey informed Harvey that the lowest price was $ 900 without stating that he was willing to sell at that price. Harvey telegraphed that he would buy at that price. Facey gave no reply to the telegram. It was held that there was no contract because there was no offer from Facey to Harvey.

Invitation of Tenders: No offer

Case: Spencers v Harding A invited tenders for the sale of his house but did not undertake to sell to the highest bidder. B sends a tender expressing his willingness to pay Rs 10,000. Similarly C and D also convey their offers to pay Rs 11,000 and Rs 12,000 respectively. It was held that A made no offer or proposal. He only invited offers and it is B, C, or D who are making offers which A may or may not accept.

OFFER vis a vis INVITATION TO OFFER

TENDER : It is an offer as it is in response to an invitation to offer.
Case law: Great Northern Railway v Witham (1873)
The G.N. Railway Co. invited tenders for the supply of stores. W made a tender and the terms of the tender were as follows: To supply the company for 12 months with such quantities of specified articles as the company may order from time to time. The company accepted the tender and placed the orders. W executed the orders as placed from time to time but later refused to execute a particular order.

Held: W was bound to supply goods within the terms of the tender

 AUCTION SALE: It is not considered as offer but only as an invitation to offer.

Case law: Harris v. Nickerson

DISPLAY IN SHOWCASE: The display in shop window is not an offer but an invitation to offer.
Case law: Fisher v Bell (1961)

RULES TO OFFER
. Case law: Pharmaceutical society of Great Britain v.
Boots Cash Chemist(1953).

The Court held that the display of a product in a store with a price attached is not sufficient to be considered an offer, but rather is an invitation to treat.

OFFER vis a vis INVITATION TO OFFER

SELF SERVICE STORES: In self service stores the customer offers and the store accepts , but a self service store is justified in refusing to sell goods selected by the customer. So it is an invitation to offer. INTERNET: In case of online shopping , invariably the offer would come from the customer, along with payment through a credit card, and acceptance from the seller. Once the payment is made the servers are made to generate the auto acceptance of the offer. Case laws: Chwee Kin Keong v. Digilandmall.com(2004). The content of communication on internet decides whether it is an invitation to offer or offer.

OFFER vis a vis INVITATION TO OFFER

SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFFER AND INVITATION TO OFFER??

OFFER
DEFINITE CAPABLE OF CREATING INTENTION INTO CONTRACT

INVITATION TO OFFER
ONLY CIRCULATION OF OFFER
ATTEMPTS TO INDUCE OFFERS .

SPECIAL TERMS IN A CONTRACT

Where there are any special terms in the contract it should be duly brought into the notice of the offeree. Case laws: Notice in the hotel room: Olley v Marlborough Court Ltd. (1949) See conditions at the back: Parker v S.E. Rail Co.(1877) Conditions in small print: Estrange Graucob Ltd.(1934)