Greece is under pressure from the European Union to operate duty-free shops on its land borders with third countries, as this practice is no longer in line with European law. Duty-free shops on the borders with Albania, North Macedonia and Turkey continue to provide products exempt from excise duty, despite the fact that this exemption had a legal limit until January 2017.
EU Directive 2020/262 requires a uniform application of excise duty and limits exemptions to specific cases, such as airport and port shops. Greece, despite legislative amendments made between 2016 and 2023, continued to allow land duty-free shops to sell tax-free goods to travellers to third countries.
According to press reports, the process of harmonization with EU legislation appears to have led to changes in the operation of certain shops at the border, with reports of a possible temporary or permanent closure of the duty-free shop in Doirani. However, there have been no official announcements yet.
The continued operation of these stores has economic implications for neighboring countries: North Macedonia, which has closed its own duty-free shops at its land borders since 1997, loses hundreds of millions of euros annually as its citizens buy products such as tobacco, alcohol and perfumes in Greek stores while traveling.
The European Commission has already referred Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union for breach of EU law. The issue of duty-free at land borders highlights the challenge that member states face when they have to fully implement EU law in areas with intense cross-border economic activity.
