ABSTRACT
The effect of a retention of title clause is a sale of goods subject to a condition precedent usually connected with the payment of the price. Sections 17 and 19 of the English and Scottish Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) provide that property passes in goods when the parties intend, that is, it is determined by contract rather than conveyance. In the absence of an express intention s. 18 rule 1 of the Act states that in the case of "an unconditional contract for the sale of specific goods in a deliverable state, the property in the goods passes to the buyer when the contract is made." It follows from this that (in the absence of a contrary intention) even when a supplier of goods allows the buyer a period of credit, property in the goods will pass to the buyer at the time the contract is made.
