Taxability of mining lease receipts turns on contractual character and receipt basis, not a possible later refund claim.

Amounts received under a mining lease covenant linked to rent and royalty are taxable as income when received and appropriated by the assessee. The payments were not treated as sums collected merely as an agent for the Government, and any possibility of a later refund claim by the payer did not change their character in the year of receipt. The exemption for casual and non-recurring receipts was unavailable because the payments were not shown to be accidental, fortuitous, or genuinely non-recurring. The disputed receipts were therefore chargeable to tax, and the assessment as taxable income was sustained.

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Issues: (i) Whether the amounts received by the assessee under the mining lease were income chargeable to tax. (ii) Whether the receipts were exempt as casual and non-recurring receipts.

Analysis: The receipts were paid under a covenant directly connected with the rent and royalty payable under the lease. They were not collected by the assessee as agent for the Government, nor was the payer shown to have discharged a statutory liability on behalf of the Government. The amounts were in fact received and appropriated by the assessee under the contract, and the possibility of a later claim for refund by the payer did not alter their character in the year of receipt. The exemption for casual and non-recurring receipts was not available because the payments were not accidental, fortuitous, or shown to be non-recurring.

Conclusion: The receipts constituted income and were chargeable to tax. The exemption for casual and non-recurring receipts was not applicable, and the finding was against the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed in full, and the assessment of the disputed receipts as taxable income was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Amounts received under a contractual covenant closely linked to rent and royalty are taxable as income when received and appropriated by the assessee, unless a specific exemption applies; a receipt does not become casual and non-recurring merely because it may later be claimed back by the payer.

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