Section 80-0 exemption upheld where prior approval under section 85C confirmed the agreement and technical services requirements.

Approval earlier granted under section 85C, based on the same essential requirements later relevant to section 80-0, was treated as binding on the revisional authority where the recipient was a foreign company, the letter constituted an agreement, and the stipulated services were technical services. Because those conditions had already been satisfied, the authority could not take a contrary view on the same matter, and the commission income was held wholly exempt under section 80-0 in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the commission received by the assessee was wholly exempt under section 80-0 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, having regard to the approval earlier granted under section 85C of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The conditions in section 85C and section 80-0 were materially identical. The Central Government had already granted approval under section 85C on the footing that the recipient was a foreign company, that the letter constituted an agreement, and that the services stipulated were technical services. Since the approval was granted only after satisfaction of those essential requirements, the revisional authority ought not to have taken the contrary view on the same matter. The agreement between the parties was also found to be apparent from its terms.

Conclusion: The commission amount was wholly exempt under section 80-0, and the question was answered in the affirmative in favour of the assessee.

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