Hindu Law and Custom (Recht und Sitte) c8.200

c8.200

According to Steele the custom of testing an article before purchasing it is very much in vogue even to this day in the south and to some extent also similar periods of testing are found as laid down in the Smṛtis, e. g. a week in the case of precious stones and gold and silver wares. Delay in giving or taking delivery is similarly punished. If anybody sells a thing which is not his own the purchaser must restitute it to the legitimate owner if the seller cannot be found in the bazaar or if the price paid for it was extraordinarily moderate. Trading corporations in which profit, loss and expenses are divided in proportion to the capitals laid out or according to special arrangements, are often met with, e. g. among traders in cloth, grains and butter and among bankers and brokers ¹.