HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.7584 of 2010 ORDER: Heard Sri K.Ravikanth, Learned Counsel for the petitioners and Sri R.Ramachandra Reddy, Learned Standing Counsel for the respondents and, at their request, the writ petition is being disposed of at the stage of admission. Petitioners, 52 in number, are carrying on business in different trades. They have exhibited signboards on their shops for the purpose of identification of their business premises by the customers. Their grievance is that the third respondent had issued the impugned notice to the petitioners demanding advertisement fee on the said boards through cheques/demand drafts in their favour i.e. “USM Business Systems Private Limited” within seven days from the date of receipt of the notice. A learned Single Judge of this Court, by judgment dated 31.12.2009 in W.P.No.23354 of 2009 and batch, held that the power to demand a fee or tax is specifically vested with the Commissioner or any person authorized by him; such persons are naturally to be the officials of the Corporation itself; notices issued by an agency on behalf of the Corporation is contrary to law; Section 169 requires any amount received by the Corporation towards tax and fee to be credited to the consolidated fund of the Corporation; the permission accorded by the Corporation to collect the fee was totally opposed to the scheme of the Act; and the notice issued to the petitioners, requiring them to pay the fee through cheques/demand drafts in favour of the second respondent, was in clear violation of the specific provisions of the Act. The impugned notice was quashed as it did not accord with Sections 169 and 633 of the Act. Following the said judgment, the impugned demand notice is quashed as it does not accord with Sections 169 and 633 of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act. It is, however, made clear that this order shall not preclude the first respondent from taking necessary action afresh in accordance with law. The Writ petition is allowed to the extent indicated above. However, in the circumstances, without costs. RAMESH RANGANATHAN, J Date:07.04.2010 usd