I live in Australia and purchased something online from Sweden. They have included in my purchase VAT tax. Is this meant to be added to my purchase? I assumed because I live outside the Eur I be exempt? There explanation when I questioned them was as follows...

"As for shopping from the EU and avoiding tax, you need to refer to your VAT#, in other words, you need to have a business and a valid VAT number and provide us with this information. Otherwise, the transaction and sale falls under European tax laws and is rated a Swedish turn over."

If someone could clear this up I would appreciate it! Thank you.