By Val Matthias. Updated 12:09 p.m., Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
An estimated $4.5 million in VAT was left in the hands of consumers during St Vincent and the Grenadines’ VAT-free shopping day in December, while overall VAT collections remained broadly unchanged, according to the Comptroller of Inland Revenue, Kelvin Pompey.
Mr Pompey said the department’s analysis showed that businesses would have collected about $4.5 million in VAT during the December 19, 2025, VAT-free day if the tax concession had not been in place.
The government had approved the zero-rating of VAT on eligible goods for non-commercial consumers on that day.
Speaking in an interview on WEFM on August 25, Mr Pompey said the purpose of the initiative was to give consumers more spending power by removing VAT from selected items.
He said the $4.5 million that would otherwise have been collected was effectively passed back to consumers. However, he said the tax concession did not appear to have led to a significant fall in overall VAT collections.
Mr Pompey said that when the department compared VAT collected in January 2026 with the amount collected in January 2025, the figures were “more or less the same”. VAT collected on December transactions are normally paid in January.
Mr Pompey said the department’s internal work, auditing and efficiency within the VAT system had helped make up for revenue that was foregone during the tax-free exercise.
The December 19 initiative applied to eligible goods sold by VAT-registered businesses to non-commercial consumers, under conditions set out by the Inland Revenue Department.
Mr Pompey said the scope of the upcoming VAT-free exercise would be narrower than the December programme. As a result, he said the department was not expecting another $4.5 million in VAT relief for consumers but anticipated that about half that amount could be realised.
His comments provide the clearest indication so far of the financial impact of the December VAT-free day, showing that while consumers benefited from millions of dollars in tax relief, VAT collections in the following January remained broadly in line with the previous year.
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