Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on the consumption of goods and services. The UK introduced a domestic VAT regime 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.