VATVAT /ˌviː eɪ ˈtiː, væt/ noun [uncountableU]TAX Value-Added Tax; a tax on some goods and services. Businesses pay VAT on most goods and services they buy and if they are over a certain size, charge VAT on the goods and services they sell. At regular periods of time, the total amount of tax paid is taken away from the total amount charged to arrive at an amount that is owed to or by the business. Final customers pay VAT on these goods in shops and on services. VAT is a way of charging tax on the increase in value of goods and services at each stage as they are produced, rather than just on their final selling price to customersOur quotes exclude VAT, currently 17.5%.
Some goods and services are zero-rated, which means that no VAT is charged on them.
→ see also ex VAT