[woodcote]

The charge is VAT. If the vendor has not paid VAT to the UK government, then you have to. Technically, there is no lower limit where VAT is due. It is perfectly possible to pay VAT twice - once in the country of origin and once on entry to the UK (plus a hefty 'handling fee'). What vendors should do is remove the local tax and then pay UK VAT before shipping - there are now fairly simple systems to do this.

Customs duty is something entirely different.

These charges are certainly not new, but the way of collecting them is - paying at source rather than on entry to the UK. These changes are for worldwide shipping, but were implemented following Brexit to ease shipping chaos from the EU. Most larger European slot car vendors have good systems set up, so things run pretty smoothly without any involvement from HMRC. My temptation would be to inform the vendor they cocked up and ask them to refund you any import charges.