Kinds of offer

• Section 9 of the Indian Contract Act

• Express Offer:
• When an offer is made by words spoken or written it is called an
express offer.
• Implied Offer:
• When an offer is implied by conduct of parties or circumstances of the
case it is called an implied offer.
• General Offer:
• When an offer is made to the public at large it is called general offer.
This offer may be accepted by anyone. For example, an offer to give
reward to anybody who finds the lost horse is a general offer.
• Though the general offer is made to the public at large, the contract in
this case comes to an end when any person acts upon the conditions
of the offer.
• Case law: Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.(1893) 1 Q.B 256 at 268
• Specific Offer:
• Specific offer is an offer, which is made to a specific or an ascertained
person. In this case, the person to whom the offer is made is only
liable to accept the offer.
• Counter Offer:
• Counter offer by the offeree terminates the original offer. When in
place of accepting the terms of an offer as they are, the offeree
accepts the same subject to certain condition or qualification, then a
counter offer is said to be made.
•  Cross Offer:
• Where two parties make identical offer to each other, in ignorance of
each others offer, this offer is termed as cross offer. In this case, there
is no contract because out of the two parties no one can be called for
acceptance.
• Case law- Tinn v. Hoffmann (1873)29 L.T.271
• Standing Offer:
• Also known as open or continuing offer
• When an offer is allowed to remain open for acceptance over a period
of time, it is called standing, open or continuing offer. Tenders are the
example of standing offer.
• Eg: an offer to supply 1000 bags of wheat from 1st January to 31st
December, in accordance with the orders which may be placed from
time to time is a standing offer
Offer and invitation to offer
• An offer is an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms
made with the intention that a binding agreement will exist once the
offer is accepted
• If an individual is not willing to implement terms, but merely seeking
to initiate negotiations, that is not an offer but an invitation to treat
• Goods displayed in a shop, invitation to tender
• Eg: Pharmaceutical society of Great Britain v. Boots cash chemists
(Southern) Ltd.
Invitation to offer
• Where a party, without expressing his final willingness, puts forward
certain terms on which he is willing to negotiate he does not make an
offer, he only invites the other party to make an offer on those terms
• Case law: Harvey v. Facey