The Government of Grenada is moving forward with its promise to ease strained household budgets, with the Ministry of Finance officially confirming that the last two days of October 2026 — Friday the 30th and Saturday the 31st — will be held as tax-free shopping days across all three of the country’s territories: Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique.
This upcoming weekend of zero Value-Added Tax marks the conclusion of a six-day VAT-Free initiative that forms a core part of the administration’s broader Cost-of-Living Assistance Programme. Launched in response to growing household expenses across the tri-island nation, the programme has two overlapping goals: bring immediate financial relief to struggling families, and keep local economic activity moving amid broader cost pressures.
The initiative is not limited to temporary tax-free shopping days. The government has already rolled out several complementary measures to cut energy costs for residents and businesses alike. It has expanded and raised the electricity subsidy to $50 for any customer that consumes 200 kilowatt-hours or less per billing cycle, fully removed VAT from all electricity bills for both residential consumers and commercial operators, and eliminated the Customs Service Charge applied to diesel imported for power generation.
Public response to the first four VAT-Free days held earlier in the programme has been robust, with high turnout from shoppers across the islands. Building on that momentum, the Ministry of Finance projects that both consumers and local businesses will see tangible benefits from the October event: shoppers will gain extra purchasing power for planned big-ticket or necessary purchases, while local retailers will see a boost in sales activity.
Mike Sylvester, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, emphasized that the package of relief measures represents the government’s consistent focus on delivering tangible support to citizens while lifting up the local business community. “Alongside the cuts to rising energy costs and our caps on retail fuel prices, these VAT-Free days show our ongoing commitment to putting practical relief in the hands of Grenadians,” Sylvester explained. “The official orders establishing the tax-free days will be published in this week’s government gazette, and we encourage all households to start planning early to make the most of this opportunity responsibly.”
Full details of which goods qualify for the VAT exemption, which participating retailers are participating, and the full terms and conditions of the initiative are posted on the Ministry of Finance’s official website at finance.gd, and will be updated regularly across the ministry’s social media channels. Officials have urged consumers to map out planned purchases in advance, prioritize necessary spending to align with household budgets, and review all official guidance before heading to shops to take advantage of the tax break.
Going forward, the Government of Grenada reaffirmed its commitment to rolling out targeted, evidence-based measures that deliver meaningful financial support to households while encouraging sustained economic growth across all three of its islands.