Prove the weighing and the notice
Section 22 of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 concerns specific goods already in a deliverable state where the seller must weigh, measure, test or perform another act to ascertain the price. Under that default rule, ownership waits until the act is done and the buyer has notice. First check whether a different intention appears from the contract, the parties’ conduct or the circumstances under section 19. The date of physical movement can differ from the legal trigger.
Read the applicable text: India Code: Sale of Goods Act, 1930, sections 2, 18–23, 25 and 26.
Identify the goods and the purpose of the test
Specific goods are identified and agreed when the contract is made. Record the lot or serial numbers, and the contractual price basis. A weighing undertaken to establish the amount payable under a rate-per-unit contract can be different from an inventory count after a lump sum was fixed. A test needed to put goods into a deliverable state raises the different rule in section 21. If the goods are unascertained, section 18 prevents property passing until ascertainment; then check the appropriation and assent rules under section 23 as applicable.
Verify the buyer had notice
Retain the authenticated price-setting ticket, the computation, and evidence that the buyer had notice of completion. An internal timestamp proves when the seller performed the act; it does not by itself prove buyer notice. Confirm whether a correction to a weighbridge ticket affects the contractually required measurement or merely corrects arithmetic. Preserve both records and resolve disputes before signing off.
Run separate cash, title and reporting cut-offs
Review any reservation of the right of disposal under section 25. Under section 26, risk ordinarily follows property unless otherwise agreed, subject to the rule for delivery delayed by a party’s fault. Payment, invoicing, loading and title may occur on different dates. Use a shipment-level chronology and evaluate accounting and GST cut-offs under their own requirements. The following examples assume the default section 22 rule applies unless stated and use contract amounts before taxes.
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts are fictional. Calculations illustrate the stated assumptions, not a predetermined legal outcome.
Illustrative example 1: Weight makes a unit rate into a contract amount
A named lot weighs 12.4 tonnes at a contracted ₹20,000 per tonne. The price is ₹248,000. If the seller completed weighing on 30 March and the buyer had notice on 2 April, title under the default rule passes on 2 April, three days later.
Illustrative example 2: Subtract tare under the contract
The weighbridge shows 18.6 tonnes gross and 5.1 tonnes tare. At ₹24,000 per net tonne, net weight is 13.5 tonnes and price is ₹324,000. Confirm that this is the contractual ticket before relying on notice.
Illustrative example 3: Separate a routine weight check
A contract fixes a ₹480,000 lump sum and a later logistics check shows 20 tonnes. The implied ₹24,000 per tonne is an analysis figure, not the contract pricing basis. Do not apply section 22 simply because the check occurred.
Illustrative example 4: Reconcile a corrected weight
An initial 15.2-tonne ticket is corrected to 14.9 tonnes at ₹18,000 per tonne. The revised price is ₹268,200 and is ₹5,400 below the initial computation. Verify when the act required by the contract was validly completed and communicated.
Illustrative example 5: Distinguish price notice for separable lots
Two identified lots weigh 8 and 12 tonnes at ₹15,000 per tonne. Only the first was measured and notified before close under the assumed separate terms. Under these assumptions, ownership of the first lot, priced at ₹120,000, passes before close. The second lot’s eventual price is ₹180,000, but its ownership trigger remains open at close.
Illustrative example 6: Avoid using the advance as evidence of title
A buyer pays ₹100,000 in advance against a final measured price of ₹260,000. The remaining commercial balance is ₹160,000. An advance paid before required measurement and notice does not itself complete either condition.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the binding contract | Signed order and incorporated terms. |
| 2 | Check whether the goods were specific | Contract lot IDs and identification records. |
| 3 | Confirm deliverable state | Readiness documents and obligations outstanding. |
| 4 | Identify why measurement was needed | Price clause and measurement method. |
| 5 | Capture the certified result | Weighbridge or laboratory ticket. |
| 6 | Calculate the contract price | Units, rate and adjustment working. |
| 7 | Verify buyer notice | Dated communication or equivalent evidence. |
| 8 | Review different intention and reserved title | Contract provisions and amendments. |
| 9 | Reconcile title to custody and risk | Dispatch records, risk terms and closing register. |
| 10 | Approve the lot-level cut-off | Evidence chronology and separate tax and reporting review. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Does a rate per tonne determine the final price by itself?
No. Apply the rate to the contractually relevant quantity.
2. Does every weight ticket trigger section 22?
No. The seller’s act must be required to ascertain price and the other conditions must be met.
3. What are specific goods?
Goods identified and agreed on when the contract is made.
4. What if a final test makes the goods deliverable?
Review section 21 and the contract as a separate analysis.
5. What if the goods were unascertained at contracting?
Consider section 23 and the evidence of appropriation.
6. Does an internal weighing date prove buyer notice?
No.
7. Does the Act prescribe a universal notice form in section 22?
The provision requires buyer notice; verify the actual evidence and contract requirements.
8. What if the price was fixed as a lump sum?
Check whether the subsequent measurement had any price-setting role.
9. Does a prepayment necessarily transfer title?
No. Examine the contract and statutory trigger.
10. Does dispatch necessarily fix the ownership date?
No. It may differ from completion and notice.
11. Can parties express a different intention?
Yes. Section 19 directs attention to their intention.
12. What if title is expressly reserved?
Review section 25 and the contractual conditions.
13. Does a corrected ticket always create a new title date?
No. Determine what the correction changed under the contract.
14. Can different lots have different cut-offs?
Yes, where the contract and evidence support separate treatment.
15. Does the title date dictate GST or revenue by itself?
No. Run those analyses under the applicable rules.
16. What should a reviewer be able to reproduce?
The price, timing, notice and supported ownership conclusion for each lot.
Official sources
India Code: Sale of Goods Act, 1930, sections 2, 18–23, 25 and 26