Essential Clauses of Contract By law contracts are made in writing. When striking a dealstandard
contracts are widely used. Standard contracts are not a must. Some articles may
be altered and supplemented. Here are some of the items that are part and parcel of any contract: legal title of the contracting parties, subject of the
contract, quality, price, delivery and payment terms.
Subject This section names the product for sale or purchase. It also indicates the
unit of measure generally employed in foreign trade for specific commodities.
Contracts for bulk cargo contain a stipulation ‘about’ or ‘plus or minus … per
cent’, denoting the permitted quantity tolerance.
Quality The quality of machines and equipment is to be in conformity with the
technical specifications of the contract. The quality of raw materials and
foodstuff is determined, as a rule, by standards, by sample and by description.
Price The price stated in a contract may be firm, fixed or sliding. Firm prices are
not subject to change in the course of the fulfilment of the contract. Fixed prices are the prices governing in the market on the day of delivery or for a given
period. Sliding prices are quoted for machinery and equipment that require a
long period of delivery.
Payment A cheque is a written order to a Bank given and signed by someone who
has money deposited there to pay a certain amount mentioned in the cheque to a
person named on it. Like a cheque, a draft is an order to pay. It is also called a
bill of exchange. A sight draft is a bill which is paid immediately on
presentation. A bill to be paid at a later date is called a term draft. A very useful
method is to attach the shipping documents (the bill of lading, the insurance policy and the invoice) to the draft and hand them to the bank for collection. The
documents can be handed over to the buyer either against payment or against
acceptance of the draft. A sight draft does not require acceptance. A term draft
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must be necessarily accepted. The drawee writes “Accepted” across it and signs
his name. The draft is then returned to the seller, who can hold it until maturity.