Goods are bought by description from a seller, there is no implied condition that goods shall be of merchantable quality.

 Goods are bought by description from a seller, there is no implied condition that goods shall be of merchantable quality.

Where goods are bought by description from a seller who deals in goods of that description (whether he is the manufacturer or producer or not), there is an implied condition that the goods shall be of merchantable quality: Provided that, if the buyer has examined the goods, there shall be no implied condition as regards defects which such examination ought to have revealed. 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. The Sale of Goods Act came into existence in the year 1930. The Act repealed and replaced Sub-sections 76 to 123 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Concurrent list at item six contains the subject matter of transfer of property other than an agricultural land which empowers both the parliament and the state to make laws in its regard. This Act deals in goods which are defined as 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 is agreed to be severed before sale or under the contract of sale. In the act, a buyer is defined as a person who buys or agrees to buy goods and seller is defined as a person who sells or agrees to sell goods.


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. The Sale of Goods Act came into existence in the year 1930. The Act repealed and replaced Sub-sections 76 to 123 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Concurrent list at item six contains the subject matter of transfer of property other than an agricultural land which empowers both the parliament and the state to make laws in its regard. This Act deals in goods which are defined as 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 is agreed to be severed before sale or under the contract of sale. In the act, a buyer is defined as a person who buys or agrees to buy goods and seller is defined as a person who sells or agrees to sell goods.

The legal maxim Caveat Emptor or “let the buyer beware” means that the buyer relies on his skill and judgment when he purchases. It does not mean that the buyer should ‘take a chance’, but it means he should ‘take care.’ This Maxim leads to the presumption that a buyer relies on his quality of skill and judgment when he purchases a good as he has the opportunity to examine the good before purchasing it and the seller would not be responsible for any default in the bought good. But this rule is not absolute and is limited to some exceptions. The most important exception to the rule of Caveat Emptor is the implied condition of fitness for a particular purpose and the merchantableness of the product. When a man sells an article, he thereby warrants that it is merchantable, i.e., it is fit for some purpose, and if he sells it for some particular purpose, he thereby warrants it for that purpose. The other exceptions of Caveat Emptor are discussed below under the Section 16 of The Sale of Goods Act, 1930.

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