OFFER:

Section 2(a) of Indian contract act defines offer as when one person signifies
to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing something with a
view to obtaining the assent of other , such act or abstinence is said as
proposal.
"When one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to
abstain from doing anything with a view to obtaining the assent of
that other person to such act or abstinence, he is said to make a
proposal."
The person making the proposal is called the 'offeror' or 'promisor'. The
person to whom the offer is made is called the 'offeree' or 'promisee'.
A offers to sell his scooter to B for Rs. 5,000. This is a proposal. A is the
offeror or promisor and B is the offeree.
Legal Rules Regarding Offer :
An offer to be valid must comply with the following rules:
1. Offer may be express or implied:
An offer may be express or may be implied from the conduct of the parties or
circumstances of the case.
Express Offer: An express offer is made by words spoken or written.
Examples:
(1) A says to B, "Will you purchase may car for Rs. 15,000? It is an oral offer.
(2) A, through a letter asks B to buy his car for Rs. 15,000. It is a written
offer.
Implied Offer - An implied offer is not made by words spoken or written. It is
implied from the conduct of the parties or from the circumstances.
Example:

(1) Public Transport, like, Railways. DTC in Delhi or MEST in Mumbai offer to
carry passengers for a certain fare on a particular route.
(2) Public Telephones or Weighing Machines in public places like, Railway
Stations or Cinema Houses offer their services for a certain amount, say one
rupee.
2. Offer may be specific or general:
A specific offer is one which is made to a particular person. It can be
accepted by the person to whom it has been made, no one else can accept
such an offer.

Example:
A offers to sell his watch to B for Rs. 200. This is a specific offer made to B. It
is B alone who can accept this offer and no one else can accept this offer,
i.e., C or D cannot accept this offer.
A general offer is made to the world at large. Therefore, it can be accepted
by any person.
Example:
1. A advertised in a Newspaper that he would give Rs. 100 to anyone who
finds and returns his lost dog.

3. Offer must give rise to legal obligation:

An offer to be valid must create legal relationship between the parties. The
very purpose of entering into an agreement is to make it enforceable at a
Court of law. If the offer has not been made with this intention it will not
become a contract even if it is accepted by the party to whom it was made.
Example:
A promised to pay Rs. 30 to his wife every month. Later, A failed to pay the
amount. The wife filed a suit against the husband to recover the amount. The

Court held that she could not recover as the promise was not made with an
intention to create any legal relationship.
4. Terms of an offer must be definite and certain:
The terms of an offer should not be vague or indefinite.
Example:
A has two cars - Ambassador and Fiat. He agrees to sell one of his cars to B
for Rs. 20,000.
It is not clear as to which of the cars A has agreed to sell. A might be thinking
to sell the Ambassador car while B might be thinking to purchase the Fiat car.
The offer is not definite.
5. Offer must be distinguished from an invitation to offer:
An offer must be distinguished from an invitation to offer. The shopkeepers
generally display their goods in showcases with price tags. The shopkeeper
in such cases is not making an offer so that you can accept it. He is, on the
other hand, inviting you to make an offer which he may or may not accept.
Thus you cannot compel a shopkeeper to sell the goods displayed in the
showcase at the marked price. However, if there is specific law to sell goods
at marked price then the seller will have to sell at marked price. For example,
during National Emergency essential commodities like sugar etc. have to be
sold at marked price.

6. Offer must be distinguished from a mere declaration of intention:

A declaration of intention to make an offer is not an offer. It is regarded as an
invitation to offer. An advertisement for sale in a Newspaper or Magazine etc.
is not an offer for sale.
Example:
A lost his camera in a DTC bus. He announced a reward of Rs. 100 to the
finder who may return it to him. B found the camera after reading the
advertisement and returned it to him. B is entitled to the reward.

7. Offer must be communicated:

An offer must be communicated to the person to whom it is made. A person
can accept the offer only when he knows about it. If he does not know it, he
cannot accept it.
Example:
G sent his servant L to trace his lost nephew. Later on G, announced a
reward for tracing the boy. L without knowing about the advertisement of the
reward traced the boy and restored him to G. When L came to know of the
reward, he claimed it. G refused to give the reward. The Court held that L
was not entitled to recover the reward as the offer was not communicated to
L. He could not accept an offer which he did not know.
8. Communication of Special Terms:
Special terms of a contract must be communicated. Generally, such cases
arise in respect of general offers, like tickets or receipts for depositing
luggage at the Railway Station or receipts for clothes given for dry cleaning
etc. The rule in these cases is that parties are not bound unless conditions
printed are properly communicated.
Example:
A and his wife took a room on hire in a hotel. After booking the room, they
entered the room and saw a notice on the wall of the room. The proprietors
not responsible for articles lost or stolen unless handed over to the manager
for safe custody."
Due to the negligence of the hotel staff, their property was stolen. Held, the
proprietor of the hotel was liable as the notice was not binding, because it
came to the knowledge of the client only after the contract to take the hotel
on hire had already been made.
9. Offer must be made with a view to obtaining the consent of the
other party to do or to abstain from doing the act:
The offer must be made with an intention to get the consent of the other
party to do or to abstain from doing the act and not simply with a view to
making known the intention of making an offer.

Example:
A tells B, "I may sell my Television if I can get Rs. 2,000 for it. It is not an
offer as it has not been made with a view to get the consent of B. It is a mere
declaration of intention. Therefore, B cannot accept it by saying. "I can pay
you Rs. 2,000 for it." B is not accepting A's offer but is making his offer which
A may or may not accept.
10. Offer should not impose an unnecessary obligation to
communicate non-acceptance:
Thus an offeror cannot say that if acceptance is not communicated by
Sunday next, the offer would be considered as accepted.
Example:
A offers his car to B for Rs. 20,000 saying, "If you do not reply by Sunday
next, I shall presume, you have accepted the offer."
In this case, no contract will be created even if the acceptor does not reply
as the law does not permit a party to impose an unnecessary obligation of
the acceptor if he does not want to accept the offer. Thus in the above
example, if the acceptor does not accept the offer he will be put to an
unnecessary burden of informing the offeror that he does not want to accept
the offer.