Austria implemented a European Value Added Tax regime in 1973, replacing its sales tax. Locally, it is called Umsatzeteuer.
The Austrian VAT rules are incorporated in the Value Added Tax Act 1994. This was enacted to implement the European Union VAT rules for the following year, when Austria joined the EU. This Act is backed up by secondary legislation and judicial reviews. In addition, the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the running of the VAT system, provided regular notices (Verodnungen) and decrees (Erlässe)