Section 13

Section 13 resolves two critical questions for electronic contracting: when was a communication sent and received (time), and where was it sent and received (place/jurisdiction)? On despatch: an electronic record is despatched when it leaves the originator's control — for email, this is typically when the message leaves the sender's mail server. The originator cannot 'unsend' a message after this point by claiming it was recalled. On receipt: the provision distinguishes between designated and undesignated computer resources. If the addressee has designated a specific server or system for receiving records (common in business-to-business contracts and banking relationships), receipt occurs when the record enters that system — not when the addressee actually opens or reads it. If no designation exists, receipt occurs on entry into any computer resource of the addressee. The place rules in Section 13(3) are particularly important for jurisdiction: the record is deemed despatched from the originator's place of business and received at the addressee's place of business — regardless of where the servers are physically located. This is a deliberate policy choice to anchor electronic transactions to commercial domiciles rather than server locations. A contract formed electronically between a Mumbai business (originator) and a Delhi business (addressee) is deemed formed in Delhi (place of receipt), following the Indian Contract Act's principle that acceptance is complete when communicated to the offeror.