Tanzania
Sale of Goods Act
Chapter 214
- Published in Tanzania Government Gazette
- Commenced on 15 May 1931
- [This is the version of this document at 31 July 2002.]
- [Note: This legislation has been thoroughly revised and consolidated under the supervision of the Attorney General's Office, in compliance with the Laws Revision Act No. 7 of 1994, the Revised Laws and Annual Revision Act (Chapter 356 (R.L.)), and the Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act No. 30 of 1972. This version is up-to-date as at 31st July 2002.]
Part I – Preliminary provisions (ss. 1-2)
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Sale of Goods Act.2. Interpretation
Part II – Formation of contract (ss. 3-17)
Contract of sale (ss. 3-4)
3. Sale and agreement of sale
4. Capacity to buy and sell; and sale of necessaries to persons incompetent to contract
Formalities of contract (ss. 5-6)
5. Making a contract of sale
6. Certain contracts of sale to be in writing
Subject matter of contract (ss. 7-9)
7. Existing or future goods
8. Sale of perished goods
Where there is a contract for the sale of specific goods and the goods, without the knowledge of the seller, have perished at the time when the contract is made, the contract is void.9. Goods perished after agreement to sell
Where there is an agreement to sell specific goods, and subsequently the goods without any fault on the part of the seller or buyer, perish before the risk passes to the buyer, the agreement is thereby avoided.The price (ss. 10-11)
10. Ascertainment of price
11. Agreement to sell at valuation
Conditions and warranties (ss. 12-16)
12. Stipulations
13. When condition to be treated as warranty; and saving of stipulations where condition or warranty is excused by law
14. Implication by law of condition as to title, quiet possession and encumbrances
In a contract of sale, unless the circumstances of the contract are such as to show a different intention there is—15. Conditions implied by description
Where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied condition that the goods shall correspond with the description; and if the sale is by sample, as well as by description, it is not sufficient that the bulk of the goods corresponds with the sample if the goods do not also correspond with the description.16. Circumstances in which implied warranty as to quality or fitness arises
Subject to the provisions of this Act and of any other written law in that behalf, there is no implied condition as to the quality or fitness for any particular purpose of goods supplied under a contract of sale, except as follows—Sale by sample (s. 17)
17. Sale by sample
Part III – Effects of contract (ss. 18-28)
Transfer of property as between seller and buyer (ss. 18-22)
18. Property in unascertained goods
Where there is a contract for the sale of unascertained goods, no property in the goods is transferred to the buyer unless and until the goods are ascertained.19. Property in specific or ascertained goods passes when intended to pass
20. Rules for ascertaining intention as to time when property passes
Unless a different intention appears, the following 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 shall apply—21. Reservation by seller of right of disposal
22. Risk prima facie passes with property
Transfer of title (ss. 23-28)
23. Sale by person not the owner
Subject to the provisions of this Act, where goods are sold by a person who is not the owner of the goods, and who does not sell them under the authority or with the consent of the owner, the buyer acquires no better title to the goods than the seller had, unless the owner of the goods is by his conduct precluded from denying the seller's authority to sell:Provided that nothing in this Act shall affect—24. Market overt
Where goods are openly sold in a market established by law in Tanzania in the ordinary course of the business of such market, the buyer acquires a good title to the goods provided he buys them in good faith and without notice of any defect or want of title on the part of the seller.25. Sale under voidable title
When the seller of goods has a voidable title to the goods, but his title has not been voided at the time of the sale, the buyer acquires a good title to the goods provided he buys them in good faith and without notice of the seller's defect of title.26. Revesting of property in stolen goods on conviction of offender
27. Resale by seller or buyer or the agent of either party in possession after sale
28. Effect of writs of execution
A writ of execution against goods shall bind the property in the goods of the judgment debtor as from the time when the writ is delivered to the proper officer to be executed; and, for the better manifestation of such time, it shall be the duty of such officer, upon the receipt of any such writ to endorse upon the back of the writ the hour, day, month and year when he received it:Provided that no writ shall prejudice the title to such goods acquired by any person in good faith and for valuable consideration, unless such person had at the time when he acquired his title notice that the writ or any other writ by virtue of which the goods of the judgment debtor might be seized or attached had been delivered to and remained unexecuted in the hands of the proper officer.Part IV – Performance of the contract (ss. 29-39)
29. Duties of seller and buyer
It is the duty of the seller to deliver the goods, and of the buyer to accept and pay for them, in accordance with the terms of the contract of sale.30. Payment and delivery prima facie concurrent conditions
Unless otherwise agreed, delivery of the goods and payment of the price are concurrent conditions, that is to say, the seller must be ready and willing to give possession of the goods to the buyer in exchange for the price, and the buyer must be ready and willing to pay the price in exchange for possession of the goods.31. Rules as to delivery to buyer
32. Delivery of wrong quantity or description
33. Delivery by instalments
34. Delivery to carrier, seller's duty as to contract with carrier as buyer's agent and insurance on sea transit by seller
35. Risk where goods are delivered elsewhere than at place of sale
Where the seller of goods agrees to deliver them at his own risk at a place other than that where they are when sold, the buyer shall nevertheless, unless otherwise agreed, take any risk of deterioration in the goods necessarily incident to the course of transit.36. Buyer's rights of examining the goods
37. Acceptance
The buyer is deemed to have accepted the goods when he intimates to the seller that he has accepted them or when the goods have been delivered to him, and he does any act in relation to them which is inconsistent with the ownership of the seller, or when, after the lapse of a reasonable time, he retains the goods without intimating to the seller that he has rejected them.38. Buyer is not bound to return rejected goods
Unless otherwise agreed, where goods are delivered to the buyer and he refuses to accept them, having the right so to do, he is not bound to return them to the seller, but it is sufficient if he intimates to the seller that he refuses to accept them.39. Liability of buyer for neglecting or refusing delivery of goods
When the seller is ready and willing to deliver the goods, and requests the buyer to take delivery, and the buyer does not within reasonable time after such request take delivery of the goods, the buyer is liable to the seller for any loss occasioned by his neglect or refusal to take delivery, and also for a reasonable charge for the care of custody of the goods:Part V – Rights of unpaid seller against goods (ss. 40-49)
40. Definition of "unpaid seller"
41. Rights of unpaid seller
Unpaid seller's Lien (ss. 42-44)
42. Seller's lien
43. Lien after part delivery
Where an unpaid seller has made part delivery of the goods, he may exercise his right of lien or retention on the remainder unless such part delivery has been made under such circumstances as to show an agreement to waive the lien or right of retention.44. Termination of lien
Stoppage in transitu (ss. 45-47)
45. Right of stoppage in transitu
Subject to the provisions of this Act, when the buyer of goods becomes insolvent, the unpaid seller who has parted with the possession of the goods has the right of stopping them in transitu, that is to say, he may resume possession of the goods as long as they are in course of transit, and may retain them until payment or tender of the price.46. Duration of transit
47. Mode of stoppage in transitu
Resale by buyer or seller (ss. 48-49)
48. Effect of sub-sale or pledge by buyer
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the unpaid seller's right of lien or retention or stoppage in transitu is not affected by any sale or other disposition of the goods which the buyer may have made, unless the seller has assented thereto:Provided that where a document of title to goods has been lawfully transferred to any person as buyer or owner of the goods, and that person transfers the document to a person who takes the document in good faith and for valuable consideration, then, if such last-mentioned transfer was by way of sale, the unpaid seller's right of lien or retention or stoppage in transitu is defeated, and if such last-mentioned transfer was by way of pledge or other disposition for value, the unpaid seller's right of lien or retention or stoppage in transitu can only be exercised subject to the rights of the transferee.49. Effect on sale of exercise of lien or stoppage in transitu, etc.
Part VI – Actions for breach of contract (ss. 50-55)
Remedies of the seller (ss. 50-51)
50. Action for price
51. Action for non-acceptance and measures of damages
Remedies of the buyer (ss. 52-55)
52. Action for non-delivery and measure of damages
53. Right to specific performance
54. Remedy for breach of warranty and measure of damage
55. Interest and special damages
Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the buyer or the seller to recover interest or special damages in any case where by law interest or special damages may be recoverable, or to recover money paid where the consideration for the payment of it has failed.Part VII – Supplementary provisions (ss. 56-60)
56. Variation, etc., of implied rights
Where any right, duty or liability would arise under a contract of sale by implication of law, it may be negatived or varied by express agreement or by the course of dealing between the parties, or by usage, if the usage is such as to bind both parties to the contract.57. Reasonable time
Where, by this Act, any reference is made to a reasonable time, the question what is a reasonable time is a question of fact.58. Rights, etc., enforceable by action
Where any right, duty or liability is declared by this Act, it may, unless otherwise by this Act provided, be enforced by action.59. Auction sales
60. Savings
History of this document
31 July 2002 this version
Consolidation
15 May 1931
Commenced
Cited documents 0
Documents citing this one 57
Judgment 55
Legislation 2
1. | Hire Purchase Act | 3 citations |
2. | Law of Contract Act |