An offer marks the beginning of a contractual obligation between the parties and is the first step in the formation of a contract. Since it is known that only a previous offer can be accepted, an offer is essential for the establishment of a contract. Section 2(a) of the Indian Contract Act (hereinafter, ICA) defines an offer as, if one individual indicates to another his willingness to do or abstain from doing anything in order to obtain that other's consent to such an act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal. You can use the words Proposal and Offer for Brevity interchangeably. The person who makes the promise is called the "Promisor," and the "Promisee" is called the person to whom the offer is made. It can be construed from the definition itself that an offer can be both positive and negative, i.e. the doing of an act as well as the "not doing" of an act. The person who makes the promise is called the "Promisor," and the "Promisee" is called the person to whom the offer is made. It can be construed from the definition itself that an offer can be both positive and negative, i.e. the doing of an act as well as the "not doing" of an act.
An offer can be of many types, ranging across the spectrum. There are basically 7 kinds of offers:
1. Express offer and Implied offer
The ICA defines both in Section 9 as: to the extent that the proposal or acceptance of any promise is made in words, the promise is said to be expressed. To the extent that such a proposal or acceptance is made other than in words, it is said that the promise is implied. Any offer made with phrases may, therefore, be regarded as express. Any promise made differently than in words is implied. An instance of an implied offer is a bid at an auction.
2. General Offer
A General Offer is an offer which is made to the whole world. The genesis of the General Offer came from the Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. Landmark Case. Through an advertisement, a company named Carbolic Smoke Ball offered to pay 100 pounds to anyone who would contract increasing influenza epidemics, colds or any cold-induced disease after taking its medicine as prescribed. It was also added that 1,000 pounds were deposited in the Alliance bank to demonstrate our honesty in the matter. Mrs Carlill, one customer, used the medicine and still contracted Influenza and therefore sued the company for the reward. The defendants argued that the offer was not made with the intention of entering into a legally binding agreement, but that the company's sales were only to Puff. In addition, they also argued that an offer must be made to a specific person, and that the offer is not made to any specific person and that they are not, therefore, obliged to the Plaintiff. There is no need for notification of acceptance in the case of general offers, anyone who fulfils the terms of the contract is said to have communicated his or her acceptance. The amount was therefore awarded to the plaintiff.
3. Specific Offer
A specific offer is an offer made to a specific or determined person, and only the person to whom it is made can accept this type of offer.
4. Cross Offer
When two parties make an equal offer to each other, they are said to make cross-offers in ignorance of each other's offer. Cross offers are not offers that are valid. For example, if A makes an offer to sell his car for 7 lakhs to B and B in the absence of an offer to purchase the same car for 7 lakhs, they are said to make a cross offer, and in this case, there is no acceptance, so it can not be a reciprocal acceptance.
5. Counter Offer
If the offeree offers a qualified acceptance of the offer subject to changes and variations in terms of the original offer, a counter offer is said to have been made. A rejection of the initial offer is a counter offer.
6. Standing Offer
A standing offer is called an offer that remains open for acceptance over a period of time. A Standing Offer is a type of tender that is invited to supply goods.
The Indian Contract Act does not specifically mention the various types of offers, but since ours is a country of common law, we develop law from Indian and British courts' decisions. Since an offer is the first step in the formulation of a contract, it is necessary to distinguish the type of offer made by the offeror, as different types of offers are subject to different types of legal rules.
This Article Does Not Intend To Hurt The Sentiments Of Any Individual Community, Sect, Or Religion Etcetera. This Article Is Based Purely On The Authors Personal Views And Opinions In The Exercise Of The Fundamental Right Guaranteed Under Article 19(1)(A) And Other Related Laws Being Force In India, For The Time Being. Further, despite all efforts that have been made to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the information published, White Code Legal and Tax shall not be responsible for any errors caused due to human error or otherwise.
