Chapter Two

Offer and Acceptance

Professor Dr. Afjal Hossain

Chairman
Department of Marketing, PSTU.

Text: Sen, A.K. & Mitra, J.K. Commercial Law and Industrial Law (Business Law)
 Definitions
• Offer and acceptance-
– When one person signifies to another person his willingness to
do or to abstain from doing anything with a view to obtaining
the assent of that other person-Sec. 2(a)
– All contracts are made by the process of a lawful offer and
acceptance.
– If yes, then the offer will be accepted and a contract is formed.
• Offeror and Offeree
– A proposal is also called a offer. The person making an offer is
called the promisor or offeror. The person to whom the offer is
made is called the promisee or offeree.
• Promise and Acceptance
– When the person to whom the proposal is made signifies his
assent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted. A proposal
when accepted becomes a promise-Sec. 2(b)
 Conditions of an offer
1. An offer may be express or implied from the
circumstances.
2. An offer may be made to a definite person; to some
definite class of persons, or to the world at large.
3. Legal relationship is required.
4. The terms of the offer must be certain, definite,
unambiguous, and not vague.
5. A mere statement of intention is not an offer.
6. An offer must be communicated to the offeree.
7. An offer may be conditional
8. Printed contracts.
 Conditions of an acceptance
1. It must be an absolute and unqualified acceptance of all the terms
of the offer.
2. Conditional acceptance
3. Contracts subject to condition
4. Clarification
5. The acceptance must be expressed in some usual or reasonable
manner
6. Mental acceptance or uncommunicated assent does not result in
a contract.
7. The mode of acceptance
8. Time of acceptance.
9. When acceptance is complete
10. Before offer.
11. The acceptance must be made while the offer is in force
Example !
 Types of offer
• General Offer
• Specific Offer
• Counter Offer
• Cross Offer
 Types of Offer
General Offer
General offer made to the
whole world at large.
General offer can be accepted
by any person having notice
of the offer by doing what is
required under the offer.
Example:
A transport company runs
tramway cars along the
streets.
Specific Offer
Specific offer made to some
specific person.
Specific offer can be accepted
only by person to whom it
was made.
Example:
X offers to sell his automobile
to Y at the price of 10K.
Counter Offer
Cross Offer
To whom an offer can be made?
 Invitation to offer
• When one or many party/persons are invited
to one or more offer is called as invitation to
offer, it is not require for them to get into
contract.
• Display of goods by a shopkeeper in his
window , with prices marked on them is not
an offer, But merely an invitation to the public
to make an offer to buy the goods at the
marked price.
 Communication of an offer
• When the offeree understand and have a
knowledge about the offer-Sec. 4(a).
 Revocation of an offer-Sec. 6
1. By notice
2. By lapse of time
3. After expiry of reasonable time
4. By failure of a condition precedent
5. By death or insanity
6. Counter offer
7. By refusal
Revocation of an acceptance-Sec. 5
1. An acceptance of can be revoked any time
before the acceptance comes to the
knowledge of the proposer but not
afterwards.
Any Query