Offer: A proposal is an expression of will or intention to do or not to do something. It is also called an "offer". It is one of the essential elements of an agreement.

It is the very basis of the contract. It becomes a promise when it it accepted. Section 2 (a) of the Contract Act defines the proposal as "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, to such act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal". The person making the proposal is called the proposer or offeror or the promisor. The person to whom the proposal is made is called the offeree or promisee. for example; Sunil offers to sell his car to Padmaja for Rs. 50000. This is a proposal. Sunil is the offeror and Padmaja is the offeree. An offer may be express or implied. An offer which is expressed by words, written or spoken, is called an express offer. An offer which is expressed by conduct is called an implied offer. An offer may be positive or negative. It may be in the form of a statement or a question. for example; Sridhar says to Radhika that he will sell his scooter to her for Rs.20000. This is an express offer. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation runs omnibuses on various routes to carry passengers at the scheduled faresss. This is an implied offer by KSRTC. Essentials of a valid offer: 1. A valid offer must intend to create legal relations. It must not be a casual statement. If the offer is not intended to create legal relationship, it is not an offer in the eyes of law. for example; Sunil invites Sridhar to a dinner party and Sridhar accepts the invitation. Sridhar does not turn up at the dinner party. Sunil cannot sue Sridhar for breach of contract as there was no intention to create legal obligation. Hence, an offer to perform social, religious or moral acts without any intention of creating legal relations will not be a valid offer. 2. The terms of an offer must be definite, unambiguous and certain. They must not be loose and vague. A promise to pay an extra Rs. 500 if a particular house proves lucky is too vague to be enforceable. for example; Sridhar says to Sunil "I will give you some money if you marry my daughter". This is not an offer which can be accepted because the amount of money to be paid is not certain. 3. An offer may be made to a definite person or to the general public. When offer is made to a definite person or to a special class of persons, it is called "specific offer". When an offer is made to the world at large or public in general, it is called "general offer". A specific offer can be accepted only by that person to whom it has been made and a general offer can be accepted by any person. for example; Sunil promises to give Rs.100 to Sridhar, if he brings back his missing dog. This is a specific offer and can only be accepted by Sridhar. Sunil issues a public advertisement to the effect that he would give Rs.100 to any one who

brings back his missing dog. This is a general offer. Any member of the public can accept this offer by searching for and bringing back Sunil's missing dog. 4. An offer to do or not to do must be made with a view to obtaining the assent of the other party. Mere enquiry is not an offer. 5. An offer should may contain any term or condition. The offeror may prescribe any mode of acceptance. But he cannot prescribe the form or time of refusal so as to fix a contract on the acceptor. He cannot say that if the acceptor does not communicate his acceptance within a specified time, he is deemed to have accepted the offer. 6. The offeror is free to lay down any terms any terms and conditions in his offer. If the other party accepts it, then he has to abide by all the terms and conditions of the offer. It is immaterial whether the terms and conditions were harsh or rediculous. The special terms or conditions in an offer must be brought to the notice of the offeree at the time of making a proposal. 7. An offer is effective only when it is communicated to the offeree. Communication is necessary whether the offer is general or specific. The offeror may communicate the offer by choosing any available means such as a word of mouth, mail, telegram, messenger, a written document, or even signs and gestures. Communication may also be implied by his conduct. A person can accept the offer only when he knows about it. If he does not know, he cannot accept it. An acceptance of an offer, in ignorance of the offer, is no acceptance at all. Let me give a case law regarding this point; G sent his servant L, to search his missing nephew. Subsequently, G announced a reward for information relating to the boy. L traced the boy in ignorance of the announcement. L, later on came to know of the reward and he claimed it. G refused to give the reward. The Court held that L was not entitled to the reward as he was not aware of the offer. (In Re: Lalman Shukla Vs Gauri Dutt) It should be noted that an invitation to offer is not an offer. The following are only invitations to offer but not actual offers; 1. Invitations made by a trade for the sale of goods. 2. A price list of goods for sale. 3. Quotations of lowest prices. 4. An advertisement to sell goods by auction. 5. An advertisement inviting tenders. 6. Display of goods with price-tags attached. 7. Railway time-table. 8. Prospectus issued by a company. 9. Loud speaker announcements.

Offer and Tender: A tender is not an offer to the public. It is in the nature of a continuing offer. It is different from general offer. A person who invites tenders for the purchase or sale of goods does not make an offer. The person who submits the tender is said to make an offer.