Aftab Alam, J.

1. Whether Rule 56 of the Bihar Value Added Tax Rule, 2005 can be so read as to give the prescribed authority the discretion to extend, in appropriate cases, the period for furnishing details of stocks for claiming input tax credit under Sec. 16(1)(d) of the Bihar Value Added Tax Act, 2005 ? This is the common question arising in all the four writ petitions.

2. The petitioners in the four cases pray for answering the question in the affirmative and on their behalf, it is submitted that any other view would render Rule 56 bad & illegal for being destructive of the right granted by Sec. 16(1)(d) of the Act. The Revenue, on the other hand, maintains that the answer to the question can only be in the negative, otherwise it would amount to substituting the Courts will for the mandate of the law.

3. The facts and circumstances in which the above question arises can be briefly described as follow. On 2.3.2005, the Governor of Bihar promulgated Bihar Value Added Tax Ordinance, 2005 (Bihar Ordinance No. 1 of 2005). It was published in the Official Gazette on 4.3.2005. sec. 1(3) of the Ordinance provided that that section would come into force at once but the remaining