Taxable value for locker rental excludes notional interest on refundable security deposits absent a deeming provision.

Only the actual consideration received for a taxable service can be included in value under Section 67 of the Finance Act, 1994, so notional interest on a refundable security deposit taken for safe deposit lockers was excluded from service tax. The deposit was held to serve a purpose distinct from locker rent and did not alter the agreed rent or constitute consideration for the renting service; accordingly, the demand on notional interest was unsustainable. The commentary also notes that, absent a specific deeming provision, notional interest cannot be added to the taxable value.

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Issues: Whether notional interest earned on refundable security deposit taken while renting out safe deposit lockers forms part of the taxable value for service tax under the Finance Act, 1994.

Analysis: The service tax had already been discharged on the annual locker rent, and the dispute was confined to the additional inclusion of notional interest on the refundable security deposit. The governing principle is that only the consideration actually received for the taxable service can be brought to tax under Section 67 of the Finance Act, 1994. The security deposit was taken for a different purpose and did not alter the agreed rent or constitute consideration for the renting service. The earlier decision in the appellant's own case, following the settled view that no deeming provision permits addition of notional interest to the value of the service, was applied.

Conclusion: Notional interest on the refundable security deposit is not includible in the taxable value, and the demand of service tax on that amount is unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of a specific statutory provision deeming notional interest on a refundable security deposit to be consideration, only the actual rent charged for the service can be subjected to service tax.

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