Gross receipts under presumptive taxation exclude pure reimbursements and service tax collections not forming consideration for services rendered.

Amounts that are pure reimbursements and do not constitute consideration for services rendered are excluded from gross receipts under section 44BB. Reimbursement for equipment lost in hole was held not to form part of the presumptive base because it was not payment for services or use of facilities. Service tax receipts were also excluded because service tax is a statutory levy collected on behalf of the Government and carries no income element. The Tribunal followed the settled position in the assessee's own case and maintained that neither item was includible in presumptive income computation.

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Issues: (i) Whether the amount received on account of equipment lost in hole was includible in the gross receipts for computing presumptive income under section 44BB. (ii) Whether receipts on account of service tax were includible in the gross receipts for computing presumptive income under section 44BB.

Issue (i): Whether the amount received on account of equipment lost in hole was includible in the gross receipts for computing presumptive income under section 44BB.

Analysis: The amount represented reimbursement for loss of the assessee's tools and was not a payment made for services rendered or for the use of facilities within the charging framework of section 44BB. The issue had already been decided in the assessee's own case by the jurisdictional High Court and affirmed by the Supreme Court, and the Tribunal followed that settled position.

Conclusion: The amount on account of equipment lost in hole was not includible in the gross receipts under section 44BB and the finding was in favour of the assessee.

Issue (ii): Whether receipts on account of service tax were includible in the gross receipts for computing presumptive income under section 44BB.

Analysis: Service tax is a statutory levy collected on behalf of the Government and does not constitute consideration for services rendered. Reimbursement of service tax has no income element and is not part of the amount received for services in connection with prospecting, extraction, or production of mineral oils. The issue was already settled by the jurisdictional High Court in the assessee's own case, and the Tribunal found no reason to depart from that view.

Conclusion: Receipts on account of service tax were not includible in the gross receipts under section 44BB and the finding was in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The presumptive computation under section 44BB did not require inclusion of either reimbursement for tools lost in hole or service tax receipts, and the revenue's appeal failed in full.

Ratio Decidendi: Amounts that are pure reimbursements and do not represent consideration for services rendered are not includible in gross receipts for presumptive taxation under section 44BB.

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