Mercantile Agents Act 1983

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AT 2 of 1983

MERCANTILE AGENTS ACT 1983

Mercantile Agents Act 1983 Index


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MERCANTILE AGENTS ACT 1983

Index Section Page

PART I – DISPOSITIONS BY MERCANTILE AGENTS 5

1 Powers of mercantile agent with respect to disposition of goods ........................... 5
2 Effect of pledges of documents of title......................................................................... 6
3 Pledge for antecedent debt ............................................................................................ 6
4 Rights acquired by exchange of goods or documents ............................................... 6
5 Agreements through clerks, etc .................................................................................... 6
6 Provisions as to consignors and consignees ............................................................... 6
PART II – DISPOSITIONS BY SELLERS AND BUYERS OF GOODS 7

7 Disposition by seller remaining in possession ........................................................... 7
8 Disposition by buyer obtaining possession ................................................................ 7
9 Effect of transfer of documents on vendor's lien or right of stoppage in
transit ................................................................................................................................ 7
PART III – SUPPLEMENTAL 8

10 Mode of transferring documents .................................................................................. 8
11 Interpretation ................................................................................................................... 8
12 Saving for rights of true owner ..................................................................................... 8
13 Saving for common law powers of agent .................................................................... 9
14 Saving for Hire Purchase Acts 1939 to 1973 ................................................................ 9
15 Short title .......................................................................................................................... 9
ENDNOTES 11

TABLE OF LEGISLATION HISTORY 11
TABLE OF RENUMBERED PROVISIONS 11
TABLE OF ENDNOTE REFERENCES 11

Mercantile Agents Act 1983 Section 1


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MERCANTILE AGENTS ACT 1983

Received Royal Assent: 22 March 1983
Passed: 19 April 1983
Commenced 19 April 1983
AN ACT
to amend the law relating to mercantile agents, and for connected
purposes.
PART I – DISPOSITIONS BY MERCANTILE AGENTS

1 Powers of mercantile agent with respect to disposition of goods

[P1889/45/2]
(1) Where a mercantile agent is, with the consent of the owner, in possession
of goods or of the documents of title to goods, any sale, pledge, or other
disposition of the goods, made by him when acting in the ordinary
course of business of a mercantile agent, shall, subject to the provisions
of this Act, be as valid as if he were expressly authorised by the owner of
the goods to make the same; provided that the person taking under the
disposition acts in good faith, and has not at the time of the disposition
notice that the person making the disposition has not authority to make
the same.
(2) Where a mercantile agent has, with the consent of the owner, been in
possession of goods or of the documents of title to goods, any sale,
pledge, or other disposition, which would have been valid if the consent
had continued, shall be valid notwithstanding the determination of the
consent: provided that the person taking under the disposition has not at
the time thereof notice that the consent has been determined.
(3) Where a mercantile agent has obtained possession of any documents of
title to goods by reason of his being or having been, with the consent of
the owner, in possession of the goods represented thereby, or of any
other documents of title to the goods, his possession of the first-
mentioned documents shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to
be with the consent of the owner.
Section 2 Mercantile Agents Act 1983


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(4) For the purposes of this Act the consent of the owner shall be presumed
in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
2 Effect of pledges of documents of title

[P1889/45/3]
A pledge of the documents of title to goods shall be deemed to be a pledge of
the goods.
3 Pledge for antecedent debt

[P1889/45/4]
Where a mercantile agent pledges goods as security for a debt or liability due
from the pledgor to the pledgee before the time of the pledge, the pledgee shall
acquire no further right to the goods than could have been enforced by the
pledgor at the time of the pledge.
4 Rights acquired by exchange of goods or documents

[P1889/45/5]
The consideration necessary for the validity of a sale, pledge, or other
disposition, of goods, in pursuance of this Act, may be either a payment in cash,
or the delivery or transfer of other goods, or of a document of title to goods, or
of a negotiable security, or any other valuable consideration; but where goods
are pledged by a mercantile agent in consideration of the delivery or transfer of
other goods, or of a document of title to goods, or of a negotiable security, the
pledgee shall acquire no right or interest in the goods so pledged in excess of
the value of the goods, documents, or security when so delivered or transferred
in exchange.
5 Agreements through clerks, etc

[P1889/45/6]
For the purposes of this Act an agreement made with a mercantile agent
through a clerk or other person authorised in the ordinary course of business to
make contracts of sale or pledge on his behalf shall be deemed to be an
agreement with the agent.
6 Provisions as to consignors and consignees

[P1889/45/7]
(1) Where the owner of goods has given possession of the goods to another
person for the purpose of consignment or sale, or has shipped the goods
in the name of another person, and the consignee of the goods has not
had notice that such person is not the owner of the goods, the consignee
shall, in respect of advances made to or for the use of such person, have
the same lien on the goods as if such person were the owner of the
goods, and may transfer any such lien to another person.
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(2) Nothing in this section shall limit or affect the validity of any sale,
pledge, or disposition, by a mercantile agent.
PART II – DISPOSITIONS BY SELLERS AND BUYERS OF

GOODS

7 Disposition by seller remaining in possession

[P1889/45/8]
Where a person, having sold goods, continues, or is, in possession of the goods
or of the documents of title to the goods, the delivery or transfer by that person,
or by a mercantile agent acting for him, of the goods or documents of title under
any sale, pledge, or other disposition thereof, or under any agreement for sale,
pledge, or other disposition thereof, to any person receiving the same in good
faith and without notice of the previous sale, shall have the same effect as if the
person making the delivery or transfer were expressly authorised by the owner
of the goods to make the same.
8 Disposition by buyer obtaining possession

[P1889/45/9]
Where a person, having bought or agreed to buy goods, obtains with the
consent of the seller possession of the goods or the documents of title to the
goods, the delivery or transfer, by that person or by a mercantile agent acting
for him, of the goods or documents of title, under any sale, pledge, or other
disposition thereof, or under any agreement for sale, pledge, or other
disposition thereof, to any person receiving the same in good faith and without
notice of any lien or other right of the original seller in respect of the goods,
shall have the same effect as if the person making the delivery or transfer were a
mercantile agent in possession of the goods or documents of title with the
consent of the owner.
9 Effect of transfer of documents on vendor's lien or right of stoppage in

transit

[P1889/45/10]
Where a document of title to goods has been lawfully transferred to a person as
a 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,
the last-mentioned transfer shall have the same effect for defeating any vendor's
lien or right of stoppage in transit as the transfer of a bill of lading has for
defeating the right of stoppage in transit.
Section 10 Mercantile Agents Act 1983


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PART III – SUPPLEMENTAL

10 Mode of transferring documents

[P1889/45/11]
For the purposes of this Act, the transfer of a document may be by endorsement,
or, where the document is by custom or by its express terms transferable by
delivery, or makes the goods deliverable to the bearer, then by delivery.
11 Interpretation

[P1889/45/1]
(1) In this Act —
“goods
” includes wares and merchandise;
“document of title
” includes any bill of lading, dock warrant, warehouse-
keeper's certificate, and warrant or order for the delivery of goods, and
any other document used in the ordinary course of business as proof of
the possession or control of goods, or authorising or purporting to
authorise, either by endorsement or by delivery, the possessor of the
document to transfer or receive goods thereby represented;
“mercantile agent
” means a mercantile agent having in the customary course of
his business as such agent authority either to sell goods, or to consign
goods for the purpose of sale, or to buy goods, or to raise money on the
security of goods;
“pledge
” includes any contract pledging, or giving a lien or security on, goods,
whether in consideration of an original advance or of any further or
continuing advance or of any pecuniary liability.
(2) A person shall be deemed to be in possession of goods or of the
documents of title to goods, where the goods or documents are in his
actual custody or are held by any other person subject to his control or
for him or on his behalf.
12 Saving for rights of true owner

[P1889/45/12]
(1) Nothing in this Act shall authorise an agent to exceed or depart from his
authority as between himself and his principal, or exempt him from any
liability, civil or criminal, for so doing.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall prevent the owner of goods from recovering the
goods from an agent or his trustee in bankruptcy at any time before the
sale or pledge thereof, or shall prevent the owner of goods pledged by an
agent from having the right to redeem the goods at any time before the
sale thereof, on satisfying the claim for which the goods were pledged,
and paying to the agent, if by him required, any money in respect of
which the agent would by law be entitled to retain the goods or the
Mercantile Agents Act 1983 Section 13


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documents of title thereto, or any of them, by way of lien as against the
owner, or from recovering from any person with whom the goods have
been pledged any balance of money remaining in his hands as the
produce of the sale of the goods after deducting the amount of his lien.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall prevent the owner of goods sold by an agent
from recovering from the buyer the price agreed to be paid for the same,
or any part of that price, subject to any right of set off on the part of the
buyer against the agent.
13 Saving for common law powers of agent

[P1889/45/13]
The provisions of this Act shall be construed in amplification and not in
derogation of the powers exerciseable by an agent independently of this Act.
14 Saving for Hire Purchase Acts 1939 to 1973

[P1965/66/54]
The buyer of goods under a conditional sale agreement, within the meaning of
the Hire Purchase Acts 1939 to 1973, shall be deemed not to be a person who has
bought or agreed to buy goods for the purposes of section 8.
15 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Mercantile Agents Act 1983.
Mercantile Agents Act 1983 Endnotes


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ENDNOTES

Table of Legislation History

Legislation Year and No Commencement






Table of Renumbered Provisions

Original Current






Table of Endnote References