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Contents SALE OF GOODS ACT, 1930 PAGE
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1.
Short title, extent and commencement
1
2.
Definitions
1
3.
Application of provisions of Act 9 of 1872
4
CHAPTER II FORMATION OF THE CONTRACT Contract of Sale 4.
Sale and agreement to sell
4
Formalities of the Contract 5.
Contract of sale how made
7
Subject-matter of Contract 6.
Existing or future goods
7
7.
Goods perishing before making of contract
7
8.
Goods perishing before sale but after agreement to sell
8
The Price 9.
Ascertainment of price
8
10.
Agreement to sell at valuation
9
Conditions and Warranties 11.
Stipulations as to time
9 I-5
CONTENTS
I-6 PAGE
12.
Condition and warranty
10
13.
When condition to be treated as warranty
11
14.
Implied undertaking as to title, etc.
12
15.
Sale by description
12
16.
Implied conditions as to quality or fitness
13
17.
Sale by sample
14 CHAPTER III EFFECTS OF THE CONTRACT
Transfer of Property as between seller and buyer 18.
Goods must be ascertained
14
19.
Property passes when intended to pass
15
20.
Specific goods in a deliverable state
15
21.
Specific goods to be put into a deliverable state
16
22.
Specific goods in a deliverable state, when the seller has to do anything thereto in order to ascertain price
16
23.
Sale of unascertained goods and appropriation
17
24.
Goods sent on approval or “on sale or return”
18
25.
Reservation of right of disposal
18
26.
Risk prima facie passes with property
19
Transfer of Title 27.
Sale by person not the owner
20
28.
Sale by one of joint owners
21
29.
Sale by person in possession under voidable contract
21
30.
Seller or buyer in possession after sale
22
CHAPTER IV PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTRACT 31.
Duties of seller and buyer
22
32.
Payment and delivery are concurrent conditions
22
33.
Delivery
22
34.
Effect of part delivery
23
35.
Buyer to apply for delivery
23
36.
Rules as to delivery
23
37.
Delivery of wrong quantity
23
I-7
CONTENTS PAGE
38.
Instalment deliveries
24
39.
Delivery to carrier or wharfinger
24
40.
Risk where goods are delivered at distant place
25
41.
Buyer’s right of examining the goods
25
42.
Acceptance
25
43.
Buyer not bound to return rejected goods
25
44.
Liability of buyer for neglecting or refusing delivery of goods
25
CHAPTER V RIGHTS OF UNPAID SELLER AGAINST THE GOODS 45.
“Unpaid seller” defined
25
46.
Unpaid seller’s rights
26 Unpaid Seller’s Lien
47.
Seller’s lien
26
48.
Part delivery
26
49.
Termination of lien
26 Stoppage in Transit
50.
Right of stoppage in transit
27
51.
Duration of transit
27
52.
How stoppage in transit is effected
27
Transfer by buyer and seller 53.
Effect of sub-sale or pledge by buyer
28
54.
Sale not generally rescinded by lien or stoppage in transit
28
CHAPTER VI SUITS FOR BREACH OF THE CONTRACT 55.
Suit for price
28
56.
Damages for non-acceptance
29
57.
Damages for non-delivery
29
58.
Specific performance
29
59.
Remedy for breach of warranty
29
60.
Repudiation of contract before due date
29
61.
Interest by way of damages and special damages
29
CONTENTS
I-8 PAGE
CHAPTER VII MISCELLANEOUS 62.
Exclusion of implied terms and conditions
30
63.
Reasonable time a question of fact
30
64.
Auction sale
30
64A.
In contracts of sale, amount of increased or decreased taxes to be added or deducted
31
65.
[Repealed by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938)]
31
66.
Savings
32
SUBJECT INDEX
33
Sale of Goods Act, 1930* [3 OF 1930]1 An Act to define and amend the law relating to the sale of goods. WHEREAS it is expedient to define and amend the law relating to the sale of goods; It is hereby enacted as follows:— CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY Short title, extent and commencement. 1. (1) This Act may be called the 2[***] Sale of Goods Act, 1930. 3
[(2) It extends to the whole of India 4[***]].
(3) It shall come into force on the first day of July, 1930. Definitions. 2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,— (1) “buyer” means a person who buys or agrees to buy goods; (2) “delivery” means voluntary transfer of possession from one person to another; (3) goods are said to be in a “deliverable state” when they are in such state that the buyer would under the contract be bound to take delivery of them; (4) “document of title to goods” includes a bill of lading, dock-warrant, warehouse-keeper’s certificate, wharfingers’ certificate, railway receipt, 5 [multimodal transport document,] warrant or order for the delivery of *Dated 15-3-1930. 1. The Act has been extended to Berar by the Berar Laws Act,1941, w.e.f. 1-8-1941; Dadra and Nagar Haveli by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli by Laws Regulation, 1963, w.e.f. 1-7-1965; to Goa, Daman and Diu by the Goa, Daman and Diu (Laws) No. 2 Regulation 1963, w.e.f. 29-5-1964; to Pondicherry by the Pondicherry (Extension of Laws) Act, 1968,w.e.f. 24-5-1968; to Lakshadweep by the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Laws) Regulation, 1965, w.e.f. 1-10-1967. 2. Word “Indian” omitted by the Indian Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act,1963, w.e.f. 22-9-1963. 3. Substituted by the Adaptation of Laws Order,1950, w.e.f. 26-1-1950. 4. Words “except the State of Jammu and Kashmir” omitted by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, w.e.f. 31-10-2019. 5. Inserted by the Multimodal Transportation of Goods Act, 1993, w.r.e.f. 16-10-1992.
1
S. 2
SALE OF GOODS ACT, 1930
2
goods and any other document used in the ordinary course of business as proof of the possession or control of goods, or authorising or purporting to authorise, either by endorsement or by delivery, the possessor of the document to transfer or receive goods thereby represented; (5) “fault” means wrongful act or default; (6) “future goods” means goods to be manufactured or produced or acquired by the seller after the making of the contract of sale; (7) “goods” means every kind of movable property other than actionable claims and money; and includes stock and shares, growing crops, grass, and things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be severed before sale or under the contract of sale; (8) a person is said to be “insolvent” who has ceased to pay his debts in the ordinary course of business, or cannot pay his debts as they become due, whether he has committed an act of insolvency or not; (9) “mercantile agent” means a mercantile agent having in the customary course of business as such agent authority either to sell goods, or to consign goods for the purposes of sale, or to buy goods, or to raise money on the security of goods; (10) “price” means the money consideration for a sale of goods; (11) “property” means the general property in goods, and not merely a special property; (12) “quality of goods” includes their state or condition; (13) “seller” means a person who sells or agrees to sell goods; (14) “specific goods” means goods identified and agreed upon at the time a contract of sale is made; and (15) expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (9 of 1872), have the meanings assigned to them in that Act. COMMENTS SECTION NOTES
Section 2 does not define “Sale”. That term is defined by Section 4. Clauses (1) to (14) of Section 2 define certain terms and expressions used in this Act. In any provision in which any such term or expression is used, it will be understood in the sense in which it is so defined in this section, except when the definition in this section is repugnant in the subject or context of the provision. 2.1 Goods [Section 2(7)] The term “goods” means every kind of movable property. The term “goods” specifically includes stock and shares, growing crops, grass, and
3
SALE OF GOODS ACT, 1930
S. 2
things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be severed
before sale or under the contract of sale The term “goods” does not include actionable claims and money
Goods may be “specific goods” [See Section 2(14)] and “future goods” [See Section 2(6)] 2.2 Buyer [Section 2(1)] “buyer” means a person who buys or agrees to buy goods;
2.3 Seller [Section 2(13)] “seller” means a person who sells or agrees to sell goods;
2.4 Price [Section 2(10)] “Price” means the money consideration for a sale of goods;
2.5 Property [Section 2(11)] “Property” means the general property in goods, and not merely a special property
2.6 Quality of goods [See Section 2(12)] “Quality of goods” includes their state or condition;
2.7 Seller [See Section 2(13)] “Seller” means a person who sells or agrees to sell goods;
2.8 Delivery [See Section 2(2)] “Delivery” means voluntary transfer of possession from one person to another
2.9 Deliverable State [See Section 2(3)] Whether the goods are in a “deliverable state” depends on the contract terms between
the buyer and seller. Deliverable state means that the goods are in a state in which the buyer would be
obliged to take delivery of them as per the terms of the contract. 2.10 Document of title to goods [See Section 2(4)] “Document of title to goods” includes a bill of lading, dock warrant, warehouse keeper’s certificate, wharfingers’ certificate, railway receipt, multimodal transport document, warrant or order for the delivery of goods any other document used in the ordinary course of business as proof of the possession
or control of goods, any other document authorising or purporting to authorise, either by endorsement or by
delivery, the possessor of the document to transfer or receive goods thereby represented; 2.11 Mercantile agent [Section 2(9)] “Mercantile agent” means an agent having in the customary course of business as such agent the authority to sell goods, or
S. 4
SALE OF GOODS ACT, 1930
4
to consign goods for the purposes of sale, or to buy goods, or to raise money on the security of goods;
2.12 Words and expressions used in this Act but not defined in this Act The expressions used but not defined in this Act but defined in the Indian Contract Act,
1872 shall have the meaning assigned to them in that Act. CASE LAWS Lottery Tickets as Actionable Claims - The Supreme Court reaffirmed that under
section 2(7) of the Sale of Goods Act, a lottery ticket does not qualify as “goods.” It held that a lottery ticket represents an actionable claim—a right to a conditional benefit contingent upon the draw of a prize—and is excluded from the definition of goods under both the Sale of Goods Act and sales tax statutes. This distinction prevents such claims from being subjected to sales tax.— State of Kerala v. Prabhavathy Thankamma AIR 2009 SC (Supp) 2831. Standing Timber as Goods - The Supreme Court held that standing timber agreed to be
severed before sale or under the contract of sale qualifies as “goods” under section 2(7) of the Sale of Goods Act. It clarified that things attached to the land may be regarded as goods if the contract explicitly provides for their severance before or at the time of sale. This interpretation aligned with the expression “sale of goods” under Entry 54 of List II in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, confirming that such transactions are taxable as sales of goods.— State of Maharashtra v. Champalal Kishanlal Mohota AIR 1971 SC 908. Distinction Between Sale and Exchange - The Supreme Court clarified that under
section 4 of the Sale of Goods Act, a sale requires money as consideration, distinguishing it from an exchange or barter where the consideration is other goods. In this case, the Court held that the transaction involving the transfer of a cinema business in exchange for preference shares did not qualify as a sale, as there was no monetary consideration. Thus, the provisions relating to sales in the Income Tax Act were inapplicable, emphasizing the importance of money consideration as an essential element in a sale.— Commissioner of Income-tax, Andhra Pradesh v. Motors and General Stores (P.) Ltd. AIR 1968 SC 200.
Application of provisions of Act 9 of 1872. 3. The unrepealed provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (9 of 1872), save insofar as they are inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act, shall continue to apply to contracts for the sale of goods. COMMENTS SECTION NOTES
The provisions of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, shall apply to contracts for the sale of goods insofar as they are not inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act.
CHAPTER II FORMATION OF THE CONTRACT Contract of sale Sale and agreement to sell. 4. (1) A contract of sale of goods is a contract whereby the seller transfers or agrees to transfer the property in goods to the buyer for a price. There may be a contract of sale between one part-owner and another.
SALE OF GOODS ACT 1930 – BARE ACT WITH SECTION NOTES AUTHOR PUBLISHER DATE OF PUBLICATION EDITION ISBN NO NO. OF PAGES BINDING TYPE
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TAXMANN’S EDITORIAL BOARD TAXMANN DECEMBER 2025 2026 EDITION 9789371260282 44 PAPERBACK
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DESCRIPTION Sale of Goods Act 1930 [Bare Act with Section Notes] by Taxmann is an authoritative legal reference that presents the complete text of the Act, along with comprehensive section-wise annotations and explanatory notes. Updated to reflect the latest amendments and judicial interpretations, this Edition offers verbatim statutory provisions, detailed commentary, landmark case laws, and practical insights—making it indispensable for legal research and practice. This book is intended for the following audience: • Legal Practitioners • Judges & Legal Scholars • Business & Commercial Professionals • Law Students & Academicians The Present Publication is the 2026 Edition, covering the amended and updated text of the Sale of Goods Act [Act No. 3 of 1930], with the following noteworthy features: • [Complete Bare Act Text] Contains the full, authentic text of the Sale of Goods Act 1930 • [Updated Annotations] Reflects recent amendments and interpretations for modern legal practice • [Pre-amendment Provisions] Includes footnotes showing the Act’s provisions as they existed before amendments • [Detailed Section Notes] Provides explanatory notes, comments, and judicial references for each section • [Case Laws & Commentary] Features landmark judgments and summaries to elucidate the Act’s application • [User-friendly Format] Structured with a clear table of contents and subject index for easy navigation
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