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Section 47: Time and place for performance of promise, where time is specified and no application to be made

Indian Contract Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1872
Section 46 All 266 Sections of Indian Contract Act Section 48

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 47

Section 47 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 establishes the temporal and spatial rules for performance where time is specified by the contract and no application is to be made, entitling the promisor to perform at any time during usual business hours on the appointed day and at the place where the promise ought to be performed.

  • Specified Date without Prior Demand: Governs contracts where a specific day is stipulated for performance and the promisor has undertaken to perform without requiring any prior demand or application from the promisee.
  • Customary Business Hours Limitation: Performance must be tendered strictly during the usual hours of business of the relevant trade or locality; tender made after business hours or late at night is legally invalid.
  • Designated Commercial Place: The tender of performance must occur at the agreed venue or customary place of business where the promise ought to be discharged.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Startup v. Macdonald (1843) 6 M&G 593: Codified in Section 47: tender must occur at a proper hour allowing the promisee reasonable opportunity of inspection before the close of business; a tender at an unreasonable late hour is legally defective.
  • Bishun Chand v. Radha Kishan Chand (1897) ILR 19 All 490: The High Court held that a tender of payment or delivery outside usual business or banking hours does not constitute valid performance under Section 47, entitling the promisee to reject the tender without default.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In logistics and supply chain operations, document the exact hour and minute of arrival at the delivery dock within regular business hours (via gate log, timestamped weighbridge slip, or electronic GPS stamp). If the buyer shuts the warehouse doors early, use Section 47 to prove that valid performance was tendered during usual business hours, establishing the buyer's breach.

Section 46 All 266 Sections of Indian Contract Act Section 48