JUDGMENT

Santosh Hegde, J.-Having failed in their endeavour to question successfully the validity of the Andhra Pradesh Entertainments Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 1988 inserting Explanation-II in Section 4 of the Andhra Pradesh Entertainments Tax Act, 1939 before the High Court of Judicature Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad, the appellants are before us in these appeals by way of special leave. The main contention urged on behalf of the appellants by Ms. K. Amareshwari, learned senior counsel, is that the respondent-State could not have collected entertainment tax from the appellants at a rate which is applicable to cinema theatres situated in the area administered by a Municipality because the State Government under the Municipalities Act had not issued any notification equating the respective areas in which appellants cinema theatres are situated, with a Municipality. It is the contention of the appellants that in the absence of any such Gazetted Notification the State has no authority to collect the entertainment tax at a higher rate. This argument of the appellants was rejected by the High Court on the ground that this was a question which was available to the appellants to be urged