The NRST is definately not a VAT. They are "similar" and even "essentially the same" in some regards economically, but the two are not interchangeable terms when refering to tax plans.
A VAT is collected at every stage of production, and can be emplemented to allow cascading taxes, or not allow cascading taxes. It can be implemented to be completly visible to the consumer, completely invisible, or somewhere in between.
A sales tax (general term used for Retail Sales Tax) is collected at the retail level only, not at the previous levels of production.
A NRST is definitely a VAT. It is a single stage VAT applied at final consumption. It affects the economy in the identical manner that a sales tax does. Identical because they are "economically equivalent".
The "value" of the sales tax base is the total value of the good. A VAT merely breaks the value of the sales tax base into its components. That trivial distinction is the ONLY distinction between the two.