1. Petitioners in these writ petitions are challenging the constitutional validity of Entry No. 59A of the III Schedule to Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (for short KVAT Act) which came to be inserted by KVAT (Amendment) Act, 2014 i.e. Act No. 15 of 2014 and the notification dated 28.2.2014 issued in exercise of the power under Section 5(1) of the KVAT Act.

2. I have heard the arguments advanced by Sriyuths K.P. Kumar, Udaya Holla and K.G. Raghavan, learned Senior Advocates appearing along with their respective instructing counsel and Sri Sachin B.S. learned Advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioners and Prof. Ravivarma Kumar, Advocate General along with Sri T.K. Vedamurthy, HCGP for Respondent-State.

3. It is the contention of petitioners that they are licencees under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1967 and have been vending liquor from the long number of years and the Excise Act provides for issuance of various kinds of licences in respect of dealers dealing in liquor and all the dealers in the trade are issued with the licence to trade in goods namely, liquor, bee