Sale of Goods Act Section 19 — Property passes when intended to pass
CHAPTER III EFFECTS OF THE CONTRACT — Transfer of property as between seller and buyer
Commercial / Corporate
Summary
Sub-section (1) states that when a contract involves the sale of specific or ascertained goods, ownership of those goods transfers to the buyer at the exact time the parties to the contract intend it to transfer. This means the moment of ownership change is determined by the intention of the buyer and seller, not by any fixed rule.
Sub-section (2) explains how to figure out what the parties intended. To determine this intention, you must look at the terms written in the contract, how the parties behaved, and the surrounding circumstances of the case.
Sub-section (3) says that unless the parties show a different intention, the rules in sections 20 to 24 of this Act are to be used as guidelines for figuring out when ownership of the goods passes to the buyer. These sections provide default rules for interpreting the parties' intention about the timing of the transfer.
Official Text
(1) Where there is a contract for the sale of specific or ascertained goods the property in them is transferred to the buyer at such time as the parties to the contract intend it to he transferred.
(2) For the purpose of ascertaining the intention of the parties regard shall be had to the terms of the contract, the conduct of the parties and the circumstances of the case.
(3) Unless a different intention appears, the rules contained in sections 20 to 24 are rules for ascertaining the intention of the parties as to the time at which the property in the goods is to pass to the buyer.
Sections referred to
- Sale of Goods Act §20 — Specific goods in a deliverable state
- Sale of Goods Act §21 — Specific goods to be put into a deliverable state
- Sale of Goods Act §22 — Specific goods in a deliverable state, when the seller has to do anything thereto in order to ascertain price
- Sale of Goods Act §23 — Sale of unascertained goods and appropriation
- Sale of Goods Act §24 — Goods sent on approval or “on sale or return”
Referred to by
Related Judgments
- RAJRATAN BABULAL AGARWAL vs SOLARTEX INDIA PVT. LTD.& ORS — Supreme Court of India (2022)
- AGRICULTURAL MARKET COMMITTEE vs SHALIMAR CHEMICAL WORKS LTD — Supreme Court of India (1997)
- PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO. 14 OF 2019; Sandeep Patil. vs Union of India and Others — Bombay High Court (Mumbai Principal Seat) (2019)
- UNITED BREWERIES LTD. vs STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH — Supreme Court of India (1997)
- LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA vs ESCORTS LTD, & ORS — Supreme Court of India (1985)
- COMMISSIONER OF SALES-TAX, EASTERN DIVISION, NAGPUR vs HUSEN ALI ADAMJI AND CO — Supreme Court of India (1959)
