IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE NINETEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY, TWO THOUSAND NINE PRESENT: THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.22326 of 2002 Between: M.N. Dorababu & others. ..... Petitioners AND Pithapuram Municipality, Pithapuram, East Godavari District, Rep., by its Commissioner. .....Respondent Counsel for the petitioners : Sri M. Anil Kumar for Sri O. Manohar Reddy Counsel for the respondent : Sri S. Nageshwar Reddy SC for the Municipalities This Court made the following: THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.22326 of 2002 ORDER:- This writ petition is filed for a Writ of Mandamus to declare the action of the respondent in demanding trade licence fee @ 1% of the total licence fee paid to the excise department, as illegal, arbitrary and without jurisdiction. The petitioners are the retail traders in liquor. They have averred that there is no specific provision in Schedule IV to Section 263(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965 (for short, ‘the Act’), which empowers the respondent – Municipality to collect trade licence fee in respect of the retail liquor shops. At the hearing, Sri Anil Kumar representing Sri O.Manohar Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioners, submitted that the issue raised in this writ petition is no longer res integra in view of the judgment of this Court in Y.Venkateswar Rao v. Prohibition and Excise Superintendent, Khammam District[1]. The learned counsel representing the learned Standing Counsel for the respondent fairly admitted that the issue raised in this writ petition is covered by the said judgment. I have perused the said judgment, wherein this Court held that neither the Act nor the Municipal Corporation Act confers any specific power on the municipalities/corporations to impose any tax or fees on the liquor trade. Following this judgment, this writ petition is allowed as prayed for. As a sequel to disposal of the writ petition in the manner indicated above, WPMP.No.28002 of 2002 filed by the petitioners for interim relief is disposed of as infructuous. ____________________________ C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J Date: 19.02.2009 ES [1] 2006 (1) ALT 443