ABSTRACT

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on the consumption of goods and services. The UK adopted VAT when it joined the European Community in 1973. The principal source of European law in relation to VAT is Council Directive 2006/ 112/EC, a recast of Directive 77/388/EEC which is currently restated and consolidated in the UK through the VAT Act 1994 and various Statutory Instruments, as amended by subsequent Finance Acts.