This article has been written by Samiran Das from S.K. Acharya Institute of Law, University of Kalyani

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

At the beginning of every agreement there must be a definite offer by one person to another and its unqualified acceptance by the person to whom the offer is made. An offer is a proposal by one person to another to enter into a legally binding agreement. A person is said to have made a proposal , when he signifies to another person his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining assent of that another to such act or abstinence.

An offer may be made by express words, spoken or written. This is known as express offer. For example, A says to B that, if B wants to purchase A’s house at Meerut for Rs 50,000. Or when A advertises in a newspaper offering Rs 50 to anyone who returns his lost dog, there is an express offer.

An offer may also be an implied one where the conduct of the parties or the circumstances implies the offer. In Wilkie v. London Passenger Transport Board,(1947) a bus company runs a bus on a particular route, there is an implied offer by the transport company to carry passengers for a certain fair.

General offer is an offer which is made to world at large, any person to whom the offer is made can accept it.

What constitutes an offer?

A general offer contains more or less the similar to a normal offer. Not every proposal made to another party is legally regarded as an offer. The tests to determine whether or not an offer has actually been made are as follows:

The offer must show an obvious intention on the part of the offeror to be bound by it. The offeror must show his genuine willingness to make the offer to the opposite party. The offerer must show his willingness to do or to abstain from doing something.
The offeror must make the offer with the view to obtaining the assent of the offeree to such act or abstinence.
The offer must be definite.
It must be communicated to the offeree.

Legal rules as to offer:

Offer must be such as in law is capable of being accepted and giving rise to legal relationship.- A social invitation, even if it is accepted and giving rise to a legal relationship because it is not so intended. An offer therefore, must be such as would result in a valid contract when it is accepted.
Terms of an offer must be definite, unambiguous and certain and not lose and vague.- If the terms of an offer are vague on indefinite, is acceptance cannot create any contractual relationship. For example, A offered to take a house on lease for 3 years at 285 pounds per annum if the house was put into thorough repair an drawing rooms handsomely decorated according to the present style. Held that the offer was too vague to result in a contractual relationship.(Taylor v. Portington, (1885) ALL E.R. 128)
An offer may be distinguished from a declaration of invitation and an announcement.- A declaration by a person to do something gives no rise of action to another. Such declaration only means that an offer will be made or invited in future and not that an offer is made now.
An offer must be distinguished from an invitation to an offer or to do business:- Display of goods by a shop keeper 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 prices. Likewise quotations, catalogues, advertisements in a newspaper for sale of an article or circulars sent to potential customers do not constitute an offer.
Offer must be communicated:- An offer, to be complete, must be communicated to the person to whom it is made. Unless an offer is communicated to the offeree by the offeror or by his duly authorized agent, there can be no acceptance of it.
Offer must be made with the view of obtaining the assent:- The offer to do or not to do something must be made with the view to obtain the assent of the other party and not merely with a view to disclose the intention of making an offer.
Offer should nt contain a term the noncompliance of which may be assumed to amount to acceptance :- thus a man cannot say that if acceptance is not communicated by a certain time, the offer would be considered as accepted. For example, where A writes to B, “I will sell you my horse for Rs 5,000 and if you do not reply , I shall assume that you have accepted my offer.”

Types of offer:-

There are several kinds of offers such as definite offer, standing offer, cross offer, general offer, etc.

Express offer– as discussed above in this article an express offer is an offer made expressly through words of mouth or through writing.
Implied offer– Implied offer is an offer which is communicated through the conduct of the offeror or the circumstances of the case.
Specific offer– when an offer is made to a definite person it is called a specific offer.
Cross offer– When two parties make identical offers to each other, in ignorance of each other’s offer the offers are cross offers.
General offer– where an offer is made to the world at large, any person or persons with notice of the offer may accept the offer. This is called a general offer because it is an offer which is made to the general public.

In this article we will be thoroughly throw some light upon General offer.

What is a General offer ?

In the case of a general offer the offer is made to the public at general. It is not made to any particular person or specified parties. Thus any member of the public can accept the offer. Say for example Ajay advertises in the newspaper that he want to sell his motorcycle at Rs 40000, and he expressly writes that’s anyone interested in buying the motorcycle can accept the offer along with the terms of it. Thus this offer is directed to the general public at large through newspaper.

Thus general offer can be accepted by anyone who is willing to enter in that contract. Acceptance of general offer need not be expressed. The performance of the offeree as per the terms of offer is sufficient to enforce the contract.

In Carlill v. Carboloic Smoke Ball Co.,(1893) 1 Q.B. 265, the defendant offered to pay 100 pounds to any person , who will suffer from influenza after using their smoke ball by following the directions. But here the plaintiff suffers from influenza even though she followed the directions and was entitled to get 100 pounds.

One of the key features of general offer is its openness to acceptance by anyone who meets the specified conditions. Unlike specific offer that targets a particular person or group , a general offer invites a broader audience to take up the offer and enter into a contract by fulfilling its stated requirements. This characteristic distinguishes the general offer from private or limited offers, which are directed at specific individuals.

The clarity and specificity of the terms in a general offer are crucial for its validity. The terms must be definite and leave no room for ambiguity. He terms must be definite and leave no room for ambiguity, ensuring that anyone considering acceptance can understand the conditions without confusion. This requirement contributes to the enforceability of contract formed upon acceptance, as clear terms provide a basis for determining whether parties have fulfilled their respective obligations.

Moreover , revocation and withdrawal play plays a significant role in the dynamics of a general offer. Generally , an offer has the right to revoke or withdraw the offer before it has accepted, unless the offer is irrevocable for a specified period or supported by consideration. However, when a general offer is made to the public , the withdrawal must be communicated effective to all potential offerees.

Acceptance is another critical aspect of general offer. For a contract to be formed, the offeree must communicate their intention to accept the offer in a manner prescribed by the offeror. The acceptance must be absolute, unqualified, and in accordance with the terms of the offer. Additionally the acceptance must be communicated while the offer is still valid, before any revocation or withdrawal by the offeror.

Important case laws regarding General offer:-

Carlil v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Company(1892) EWCA Civ 1

The Carbolic Smoke Ball Co. made a product called the “Smoke Ball” and they claimed that it would cure influenza if inhaled. They firmly claimed that once a person has inhaled a smoke ball he or she can never contact influenza again. The smoke ball was a rubber ball with a tube attached. It was filled with carbolic acid. The tube would be inserted into a users nose and the ball would be squeezed at the bottom to release the vapours.

A lady named Louisa Elizabeth Carlill came across the advertisement and she bought one of the smoke balls and used it three times daily for nearly 2 months until she contacted influenza.

The main issue upheld in the court was that whether the promise to pay 100 pounds to any person who uses the smoke ball and then contacts influenza was an express promise or any sales gimmick or precisely “sales puff”.

The defendants appeal was dismissed and the plaintiff was entitled to recover the promised amount. The court also held that, generally these express promises by companies are sales puffs or exaggerated claims to increase their sales and thus carries no enforceability. But in this particular case the defendant had deposited 1000 pounds in the bank and they mentioned it in their advertisement as a mark of their sincerity. Since the defendant did this the court held their offer to reward as a promise backed by their own sincerity thus the plaintiff was entitled to recover the 100 pounds she was promised by the defendant.

Weeks V. Tybald (1605) 75 ER 982

It was suggested in this case that the offer must be made to a definite person. That case arose out of defendants affirmation to the public that he would give 100 pounds to the person if he marries his daughter with his consent. The plaintiff alleged that he did so and sued the defendant. The court rejected this action and said that it is neither averred nor declared to whom the words were spoken.

Lalman Shukla V. Gauri Datt (1913) 11 ALJ 489

In this case the defendants nephew absconded from his house, so the defendant sent his servant to find his nephew. The servant found the nephew but on the other hand the defendant declared a reward of Rs. 501 to any person who finds him out. But the servant had already found the boy and he came to know about the reward after he had found the boy. In a suit filed by the servant to claim the reward, it was held that he could successfully claim the reward only on the basis of contract and in this case there was no communication of proposal to him.

The principle laid down in this case was that, to create it is important and necessary that the proposal is communicated to the to the offeree(s) or prospective offeree(s).

M Madhavan V. Messers Sitaram Bajaj

In this case the complainant alleges that a general offer on a newspaper Mathrubhoomi Daily on 30 December under Bajaj jackpot , with a down payment of Rs.3999 and a guaranteed prize with every sale that took place. When the complainant went to buy the motorcycle at the retail shop but the sales manager informed that the entire sales have been shifted to another place as a price harvest. So the complainant went there and met the salesman there and made the unconditional acceptance of the offer and tendered the cash of Rs. 4000. But the salesman was not ready to deliver the vehicle fir that price notified in the general offer. The sales manager told the complainant hat it as a marketing gimmick to attract more customers and hookwink them.

The issue raised in the court was that : (1.) Is the complainant entitled to have the Bajaj bike for the said price? (2.)is there any unfair trade practice committed by the respondent? (3.) If so reliefs and costs.

The complaint was dismissed since the complainant had failed to prove any evidence that he had met the sales manager and tendered Rs. 4000 as was alleged. Also the there was written in tiny letters beside the price that it was subject to certain conditions.

CONCLUSION:

Therefore we see that to enter into any contract there must be an offer which s an essential element in every contract. The offer is the key to any contractual agreement and the acceptance of which is very important to make a contract enforceable. There are several kinds of offer and one of them i.e. General Offer, we have discussed here about. General offer is made to the public at large. It is not an offer to any specific or definite person or group of persons. It must be a genuine offer and not any sales-puff. Also the offer must be properly disseminated to the intended recipients. Also there are many companies that use extravagant claims to attract more customers as was seen in the case of M Madhavan v. Messers Sitaram Bajaj.