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2.1 The Assessing Officer proceeded to examine as to whether the services provided by the assessee qualified for deduction under Section 80-O of the Income-tax Act, 1961. He examined the guidelines for approval of agreements laid down in the Circular No. 253 dated 30-4-1979 issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. The Assessing Officer observed that in the said circular, with reference to information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific knowledge, experience or skill made available or provided or agreed to be made available or provided, it is mentioned that such information should not be merely of statistical type collected or collated from commercial or scientific journals or other commonly available sources of information, but it should be information concerning the industrial, commercial or scientific knowledge, experience or skill processed or developed by Indian Party. The Assessing Officer further noted that the technical services rendered or agreed to be rendered to the foreign party should relate to productive fields such as (a) mining, or (b) generation or distribution of electricity or any other form of power, or (c) engineering services, and services such as those relating to management, organisation, sales, finance and accounts will not qualify for the said purpose. The said circular also mentioned that technical services which were rendered in India would not qualify for the said purpose. The said circular further provided that the agreements providing for participation in business and management operations abroad simpliciter in return for a specified percentage of commission or profits will not be eligible for approval. The Assessing Officer further observed that although the said circular covered the period when the approval was to be granted by the CBDT, which had been discontinued with effect from assessment year 1992-93, but the instructions mutatis mutandis apply as the same had not been superseded by any subsequent instructions on the subject. The Assessing Officer further observed that the assessee was signing the agreements for the limited purpose of liaisoning for a specified percentage of commission as a broker of the foreign ship-owners /charterers who supplied him ready-made information of all kinds regarding ships, their loading capacity etc. and the Indian clients pass on all the information regarding their cargo and their destinations etc. He went on to observe that gathering of information regarding ports, the handling capacity and weather conditions etc. is available to the assessee easily from the commonly available sources and that the assessee's liaisoning is over, the moment the agreement was signed and the specified percentage of brokerage was quantified and incorporated in the agreements. He further observed that the role of broker by and large ended and the role of agents began, who are also appointed by the foreign ship-owners/charterers. He held that the assessee had developed nothing of his own and that he possessed mere information received from both the foreign charterers and Indian clients, which information was passed on between the parties and brokerage was earned. He further observed that the assessee was offering liaisoning to Indian clients from India and within India and his area of operation was confined to brokerage only and that he was not responsible for anything beyond that. According to him the information passed on by the assessee to foreign enterprise/charterers was merely regarding the intending Indian clients, their cargoes and related to requirements of ships and that such services were denied concessions under Section 80-O vide paragraphs (iv), (v) and (vii) of the aforesaid instructions issued by the CBDT.