II. Unascertained Goods As already we studied that the unascertained goods are those which are not specifically identified at the time of contract of sale. The ownership in the case of unascertained goods, is transferred to the buyer subject to the fulfilment of following conditions: a. When the Goods are Ascertained Ascertainment is a process by which the goods to be delivered under the contract of sale are identified and set apart.
It is a unilateral act of the seller alone to identify and isolate the goods. b. When the Goods are Appropriated to the Contract Appropriation is a process by which the goods to be delivered under the contract of sale are identified and isolated with the consent of the seller as well as the buyer. It is a bilateral act of the seller and the buyer to identify and isolate the goods.
In other words, where the goods identified and isolated are put into boxes or any container with the consent of the buyer, it is called appropriation. eg. ‘A’ agrees to sell ‘B’ the oil to be produced by him. The oil was filled by ‘A’ into the bottles supplied by ‘B’.
It is an effective appropriation and the ownership of oil goods passes to the buyer when the oil is filled into the bottles. In this case, the buyer gave his consent to the appropriation by supplying the bottles. c. Delivery to the Carrier Where the seller delivers the goods to a carrier for the purpose of transmission to the buyer, he is deemed to have unconditionally appropriated the goods to the contract.
But the only condition is that the seller should not have reserved the right of disposal of the goods.Where the railway receipt or the bill of lading is made out in the name of the buyer, the presumption is that the seller has not reserved the right of disposal of the goods. The property in such goods passes to the buyer immediately on delivering them to the carrier.