VED - Vehicle Excise Duty is more commonly known as Road Tax and the tax disc in your windscreen is proof that you have paid.
In the past, all cars paid the same amount, but now the duty is assessed on a sliding scale depending on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions a car produces.
For further information, check out www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/vehicles.htm or www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk.