The European Commission today announced its decision to refer Greece to the EU Court of Justice, due to the non -compliance with the European Directive on the establishment of a general regime of special taxes.

In its announcement, the Commission states that Greece relieves excise tax on the products supplied by tax -free stores located at its land borders with Albania, northern Macedonia and Turkey.

Under Union Law, the Member States possessed on July 1, 2008, off -air or port or port stores could make use of that exemption by January 2017. “Although this is no longer allowed under EU rules, Greece continues to use it, The Greek authorities are inadequate. For this reason, it refers to Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

It is recalled that as a result of the successive legislative changes approved from 2016 to 2023, Greece continues to relieve the excise duty from special consumption taxes carried out by shops located at its land borders to travelers traveling outside EU countries.

To ensure the proper operation of the internal market, Council Directive (EU) 2020/262 establishes single rules regarding, inter alia, at the time when the excise duty is demanded and the deliveries of specialized products for which the products may be applied. Since January 2017, the deliveries of products of special consumption taxes carried out by stores located on the land border to travelers who go to outside EU countries can no longer be exempt from the Special Tax in accordance with the Law of the Union and should be paid.