Originally Posted by
pinniped
If you fly an internal flight, then I would assume the shop has to pay a duty on the goods sold, right?* How they advertise it, or whether the buyer is getting a legitimate savings compared to your best local liquor-shopping option, is another story.
*Or do airport shops strike deals with their local governments to not pay taxes, even when the shoppers aren't leaving the EU? I've never fully understood how this arrangement works, only that a 1 litre of Scotch at LHR generally costs around the same as a comparable 750 mL bottle in Kansas; thus I'm a buyer. I've never paid attention to whether intra-EU shops are any different.
There are 2 scenarios:
1. prices vary depending on the final destination of the buyer
2. prices are the same
In case 1, an intra-EU customs customer would pay the duty and whatever other taxes are needed
In case 2 either the retailer eats the duty (to get the sale and still make a profit), or there is no duty to be paid.
There is another possibility - alcohol sold that will be exported out of the country may not have to pay duty/vat/... even when within EU. Whether or not this is in accordance with EU regs is an interesting question.