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Handout Acceptance

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Aryan Choudhary
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7 views

Handout Acceptance

Uploaded by

Aryan Choudhary
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Acceptance

It is often said that acceptance is to an offer what a lighted match is to a barrel of gunpowder.
For a successful contract, there must be a valid offer followed by the offer being accepted. Let
us learn more about the essentials of a valid acceptance.

Example: A offer to sell his vehicle for Rs.5lakhs,B accepts the offers to purchase the vehicle
for the same amount. This is acceptance.
Rules regarding Valid Acceptance

1] Acceptance can only be given to whom the offer was made


In the case of a specific proposal or offer, it can only be accepted by the person it was made to.
No third person without the knowledge of the offeree can accept the offer. When the proposal
is a general offer, then anyone with knowledge of the offer can accept it.

2] It has to be absolute and unqualified


Acceptance must be unconditional and absolute. There cannot be conditional acceptance that
would amount to a counteroffer which nullifies the original offer. Let us see an example. A offers
to sell his cycle to B for 2000/-. B says he accepts if A will sell it for 1500/-. This does not amount
to the offer being accepted, it will count as a counteroffer. Also, it must be expressed in a
prescribed manner

3] Acceptance must be communicated


For a proposal to become a contract, the acceptance of such a proposal must be communicated
to the promisor. The communication must occur in the prescribed form, or any such form in the
normal course of business if no specific form has been prescribed. Further, when the offeree
accepts the proposal, he must have known that an offer was made. He cannot communicate
acceptance without knowledge of the offer.

So when A offers to supply B with goods, and B is agreeable to all the terms. He writes a letter
to accept the offer but forgets to post the letter. So since the acceptance is not communicated,
it is not valid.

4] It must be in the prescribed mode


Acceptance of the offer must be in the prescribed manner that is demanded by the offeror. If no
such manner is prescribed, it must be in a reasonable manner that would be employed in the
normal course of business. But if the offeror does not insist on the manner after the offer has
been accepted in another manner, it will be presumed he has consented to such acceptance.
So A offers to sell his farm to B for ten lakhs. He asks B to communicate his answer via post. B e-
mails A accepting his offer. Now A can ask B to send the answer through the prescribed manner.
But if A fails to do so, it means he has accepted the acceptance of B and a promise is made.

5] Implied Acceptance
Section 8 of the Indian Contract Act 1872, provides that acceptance by conduct or actions of the
promisee is acceptable. So if a person performs certain actions that communicate that he has
accepted the offer, such implied acceptance is permissible. So if A agrees to buy from B 100 bales
of hay for 1000/- and B sends over the goods, his actions will imply he has accepted the offer

6) Silence can’t be a mode of acceptance

Pankaj told Radhika, ‘I offer you my car for Rs. 50000. If you don’t reply in 10 ten days’ time,
I shall assume that you accept the offer’. Radhika kept silent. Held, there is no contract

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