THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.23944 OF 2004 Dated:27.06.2011 Between: M/s.Aristocrat Flooring Private Limited, 3-5-1093/22/1, Venkateshwara Colony, Narayanguda, Hyderabad, represented by its Director Mr.S.Siva Sankar Rao .. Petitioner And The Commercial Tax Officer, Barkatpura Circle, Hyderabad And others .. Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.23944 OF 2004 ORDER: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice Ramesh Ranganathan) The order of the first respondent dated 17.11.2004 levying Entry Tax on the excavator owned by the petitioner is under challenge in this writ petition. In M/s.Vijaya Traders, Kadapa v. The Commercial Tax Officer-I, Kadapa[1], this Bench repelled the challenge to the vires of Section 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Tax on Entry of Motor Vehicles into Local Areas Act, 1996 (for brevity, the Act) and remanded the matter back to the assessing authority to examine whether the vehicle in question is a “motor vehicle” falling within the ambit of the Andhra Pradesh Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2001 (2001 Act), if necessary after obtaining the opinion of an expert (Gazetted Officer of the Department of Transport). Sri V.Bhaskar Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner, would draw attention of this Court to the endorsement of the Joint Transport Commissioner and Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, dated 13.12.2004, in support of his contention that, as the Joint Commissioner has already opined that the excavator is not a “motor vehicle”, no useful purpose would be served in now asking the assessing authority to examine the matter afresh; and the impugned order must, therefore, be set aside. Since the assessing authorities were directed, in M/s.Vijaya Traders, to examine the question whether or not the vehicles in question are motor vehicles amenable to tax under the Act, we consider it appropriate to dispose of this writ petition also directing the assessing authority to examine the question whether or not the excavator in question is a “motor vehicle” liable to be taxed under the Act, after taking into consideration the endorsement of the Joint Transport Commissioner and Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, dated 13.12.2004. This exercise shall be completed within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of. However, in the circumstances, no order as to costs. ________________ (V.V.S. RAO, J) ______________________________ (RAMESH RANGANATHAN, J) 27.06.2011 KH [1] W.P.Nos.12455 of 2005 and batch, Dated 22.06.2011