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 provisions of the Ordinance would come into force on such date(s) as the State Government might appoint by notification in the Official Gazette and different dates might be appointed for different provisions. In terms of that provision, the State Government issued notification No. S.O.18, dated 18.03.2005, for enforcement of Sections 2 to 99 of the Ordinance with effect from 1.4.2005. sec. 93 of the Ordinance contained the rule-making power and authorised the State Government to make rules, subject to the condition of previous publication. In exercise of that power, the State Government framed the Bihar Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 under S.O.26, dated 24.03.2005. But at that time, the condition of previous publication of the rules was somehow overlooked. By virtue of notification, dated 18.03.2005, all the provisions of VAT Ordinance came into force on 1.4.2005 and consequently the previous Act holding the field, namely, the Bihar Finance Act, 1981 was repealed by sec. 94 of the Ordinance. On 23.06.2005, the State enacted the Bihar Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (Bihar Act No. 27 of 2005) which received the assent of the President of India on 23.06.2005 and on the same date it was published in the Gazette of India (Extra Ordinary). Section 1(3) of the Act provided that it would be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of April, 2005. Later, a number of amendments were introduced in the Act by Bihar Finance Act, 2006 (Act 7 of 2006). The amendment Act received the assent of the President of India on 19.04.2006 and it was published in the Bihar Gazette (Extra Ordinary) on the same date. While introducing a number of amendments in the Act, it seems that the omission to follow the condition of previous publication in the making of rules was also realised. The lacuna was corrected by amending sec. 93 and removing the condition of previous publication retrospectively with effect from 1.4.2005.

4. The essence of VAT is said to lie in giving set-off for the tax paid earlier and this object is given effect to by providing for input tax credit/rebate. The provisions relating to input tax credit are contained in sec. 16 of the Act. It is a long section dealing with the different ways in which a claim for input tax credit may arise and may be claimed by the dealer. For the present, we are concerned with input tax credit on goods lying in stock with the dealer on 1.4.2005 that had already suffered the incidence of tax under the Bihar Finance Act, 1981 before the VAT Act came into force. sec. 16(1)(d) reads as follows: Input Tax Credit : (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, an input tax credit as provided in this section shall be claimed by a registered dealer, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, on sales of goods in the foll