Two GST-Free Weekends Announced for Back-to-School Shopping

Cabinet has officially declared two (GST) free weekends for “Back to School” shopping. Consumers will enjoy a 0% GST rate on goods purchased from Thursday, July 31 to Saturday, August 2, and again from Friday, August 15 to Sunday, August 17. This second round of GST relief is limited to only school supplies ranging from ready-made uniforms to stationery supplies, school supplies and uniform fabric.  The declaration of these GST-free weekends follows a similar successful initiative implemented by the government in December 2024, when it announced the first-ever GST Christmas Waiver. That program saw GST waived on local retail sales of all standard-rated goods on specific dates in December which Prime Minister John Briceno had lauded as “extremely successful”.