TYPES OF AGENTS

“An ‘agent’ is a person employed to do any act for another, or to represent another in dealings with third persons. The person for whom such act is done, or who is so represented, is called the ‘principal’”. Chapter X, section 182 – 238 of the Indian contract act, 1872 talk about agency every essential related to the same.

In a contract of agency, there are different types of agents. These types can be on varying basis:

1. Level of agent
2. Agent (sec.182) – The person who is directly appointed by the principle to work for, or represent himself to the third party, as per the given instructions.
3. Sub-Agent (sec.191) – A person appointed by the original agent, to work under his control as an agent is a sub Agent. An agent can not appoint a sub agent unless it is by the permission of the principle; under the customary trade practices; or the nature of authority is such that delegation is necessagry
4. Substituted Agent – A person who is appointed to work with or on behalf of the original agent by the principle himself is a substituted agent.

2. Work Assigned
3. General Agent (sec.182) – An agent who can work or represent the principle to the third party for every matter is a general agent. A partners in a partnership firm, where the partners are the agents and the firm the is principle.
4. Specific Agent – An agent who is appointed only for a specific representation or work is a specific agent. Such as, an agent appointed for the sale of land.
5. Mercantile Agent – An agent having in the customary course of business as such agent authority either to sell goods, or to consign goods for the purposes of sale, or to buy goods, or to raise money on the security of goods. Mercantile agents are brokers, factors, Auctioneers, etc. Mercantile agents are discussed under Sec. 2(9) of The Sales of Goods Act, 1930

3. Based on Interest
4. Gratuitous Agency – When an agent works on behalf of the principle for no reward/compensation against his actions, he is said to be working gratuitously.
5. Agency coupled with interest – An agency, in which the subject matter of the contract of agency is of agent’s personal interest too, such as, say X advanced a specific amount of loan to Y, for the repayment of which, Y, handing over some property to X said that he can sell the land as his agent, and after keeping the amount which he is entitled to, he shall return the rest of the money. In this case, it is agent has his personal interest coupled with subject matter of the contract i.e. the property
6. Agent working against compensation – In general, when an agent – principle relationship gets established, the principle compensates the agent for his act. This compensation may be some past act, or a promise to perform a certain activity in future, or any such thing, that is suited to both the parties to the contract.

Discussed above are the different types of agents, differentiated on different bases. For some, definition has been provided in the act itself, while some other have been recognised from the different types of agent – principle relationships among different individuals.