Why are eBay now charging VAT on postage when buying from the US

[glenswick]

I appreciate that eBay now have to charge VAT on the purchase price of an item bought from the US, but I object strongly to having to also pay VAT on whatever the seller charges for postage!  How can this possibly be correct, as there is no VAT on postage.  I recently received an invoice and it was not until I came to pay that I realised an additional 20% would be levied on the total price, ie, to include postage.  How can this be justified?

[papso22]

It's how the law on imports works, you calculate the import vat on the total paid by the importer, inlcuding postage.  It's nothing to do with ebay. 

[glenswick]

I realise this is the way imports work, as I have bought many things from the States over the years. However, it is only from 1 January that VAT has been charged on all items, not just those over £15, AND on postage, as was not the case previously. I do think that the total cost, including VAT, should be shown, before going to pay for the item.