Comparable-service valuation under service-tax rules requires...

Comparable-service valuation under service-tax rules requires comparison between service recipients who stand on the same footing. Flats and a commercial unit allotted without monetary consideration to existing occupants under a redevelopment arrangement could not be valued by reference to sale prices of flats sold to new buyers, because the two recipient groups were not comparable. Since service tax had already been discharged on flats sold to new buyers, the demand based on an assumed value for allotments to existing occupants was unsustainable. The service-tax demand, consequential interest and penalty were set aside.