ITAT adjudicated a dispute concerning the tax treatment of...

ITAT adjudicated a dispute concerning the tax treatment of payments for mineral oil exploration services. The tribunal determined that payments to non-residents for drilling, extraction, and exploration services fall under Section 44BB's presumptive taxation scheme. The transactions were deemed business income, not royalties or technical fees. The tribunal rejected lower authorities' interpretations, holding that the specific provisions of Section 44BB govern the assessment. Consequently, the ITAT set aside the CIT(A)'s order, affirming the assessee's tax deduction approach and recognizing the payments as income chargeable under the prescribed presumptive taxation mechanism, with a deemed profit of ten percent of the aggregate specified amounts.

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