Storage of old records is not storage of goods where the materials lack saleability and marketability for service tax purposes.

Old discharged cheques, vouchers, deeds, agreements and account books stored for banks and corporate houses were held not to be "goods" for storage and warehousing service tax purposes. The applicable statutory meaning of goods was drawn from the Sale of Goods Act, where saleability and marketability are essential attributes; records kept for compliance and record management lacked those attributes. On that basis, storing and managing such records did not fall within storage and warehousing of goods, so service tax was not payable on the activity.

---

---

Issues: Whether old records such as discharged cheques, vouchers, deeds, agreements and books of account stored by the assessee for banks and corporate houses constituted "goods" so as to attract service tax under the taxable category of storage and warehousing services.

Analysis: The taxable service of storage and warehousing under the Finance Act was linked to storage of "goods", and the term "goods" was adopted from section 2(7) of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930. On that statutory scheme, saleability and marketability were treated as essential attributes of goods. Old files and records retained for compliance and record management were not saleable articles and had no marketability. The reasoning in the cited Supreme Court decision on the meaning of goods was held applicable to the present facts, and the records in question were therefore not goods within the meaning of the service tax provisions.

Conclusion: The activity of storing and managing such old records did not amount to storage and warehousing of goods, and no service tax was payable on that activity. The assessee's appeal was allowed and the revenue's appeal was dismissed.

---