K.M. JOSEPH, J.

In this batch of appeals, there are several common questions and, therefore, we dispose of the same by the following common judgment.

2. On 01.11.2011, the Uttarakhand Legislature passed the Uttarakhand Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2011 (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”). It, inter alia, provided for the levy of market fee and development cess under Section 27(c)(iii), which read as follows:

“(iii) any such agricultural produce, which reaches any Market area of the State for sale, storage, processing or transaction from any other State or out of Country for the first time, it shall be registered as “First Arrival” and on such produce, Market fee and Development cess shall be payable.”

3. Nine writ petitions were filed. A contention was raised by petitioners therein that they were bringing the agricultural produce into the market area for the purpose of manufacture of various products. They also questioned the legislative competence of the State Legislature to enact a law permitting levy of market fee and development cess, as was provided. A learned Single Judge of this Court took the view that the provisions did not contemplate levy of market fee or development cess on agricultural produce, which are brought into the market area for the purpose of manufacture, and the word “manufacture” was not mentioned in Section 27(c)(iii) and, therefore, while upholding the legislative competence of the State to levy the market fee and the development cess as provided, the writ petitions save one were disposed of by issuing a negative mandamus restraining the respondents from collecting market fee / cess.

4. The Legislature of the State responded, apparently, to the judicial verdict by amending the Act and by substituting the following provision in place of Section 27(c)(iii):

“(iii) any such agricultural produce, which arrives in any Market area of the State for sale, storage, processing, manufacturing, transaction or other commercial purposes from any other State or out of Country for the first time, it shall be registered as “Primary Arrival” and on such produce, Market fee and Development cess shall be payable.”

5. Para (iv) of clause (c) of Section 27 was also substituted as follows:

“(iv) any agricultural produce, which is brought to any Market area within the State after the transaction of sale from any other Market area of the State after paying Market fee and Development cess for the purpose of sale, storage, processing, manufacturing, transaction or other commercial purposes, it shall be called as “Secondary Arrival” and on such produce, no Market fees and Development cess shall be leviable.

6. Still furthermore, a new para (v) was inserted in clause (c) of Section 27, which reads as under:

“(v) any agricultural produce, which is brought to any Market area from outside Uttarakhand State for sale, storage, transaction or commercial purpose after paying Market fee and / or Development cess then Market fee and Development cess shall be leviable on such produce:

Provided that brought to Market area from outside Uttarakhand State for processing or manufacturing purpose after paying Market fee and / or Development cess from concerning State then it shall be called as “Other Secondary Arrival” and no Market fee shall be leviable however due Development cess shall be leviable.”

7. The said amending Act came into force w.e.f. 01.11.2011.

8. Thereupon, the present writ petitions were filed. In many of the cases, writ petitioners brought Paddy and they were engaged in the processing of Paddy into Rice. In many others, wood was being brought and wood products were being manufactured. Likewise, flour was being brought and products out of the same were being made. Suffice it to say, there is no dispute that the produce, which was being brought in all these cases, fulfills the definition of “agricultural produce”, which reads as follows:

“2(i) “Agricultural Produce” means all prod