VAT payment twice on everything shipped to Norway

[johnclauction]

Hi, I have recently had to pay VAT twice on goods bought from sellers on eBay that ships to me in Norway. First VAT when I buy the goods (which is clearly stated as VAT for the Norwegian government), and then I am charged again when I receive the package including a processing fee from the customs office here in Norway.

From what I understand Norway is no longer part of the VOEC deal unless the VAT is reported and paid electronically directly and for some reason none of my purchases over eBay has that so I am charged again when the package arrives. It would be better to just remove the whole VAT payment from eBay then, but surely they should  have been informed about this from the Norwegian customs office? I have been informed by the customs office that having a visible VOEC number on the package is no longer needed and neither has any effect (only whether it is marked as a gift or not).

So my question then is how can I get VAT back from eBay as the customs office say that I need to get it from back from the seller. Obviously the seller of the good is not actually receiving the VAT payment, but eBay is - so I wonder how I can reclaim that back from eBay.

Regards,
John