Thiruvananthapuram, Monday, December 27, 2010: The Kerala government will offer tax refunds to buyers from outside the State for purchases made at the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival which has begun from December 1 and will conclude on January 15.

More than 5,400 traders, including major shopping malls across the State, will take part in the fourth edition of the festival being organised by the Tourism Department to promote trade and tourism.

As much as 101 kg of gold will be distributed through draw of lots as prizes to the winners of the 45-day Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) fourth edition. During the last two GKSF seasons, 40 kg of gold were given as prizes to the winners through draw of lots compared to the apartments and luxury vehicles given in the first two seasons.

The season four of the GKSF that has started from December 1st this year would conclude on January 15, 2011. The Grand Kerala Shopping Festival season four has also included an amazing offer for winning fabulous prizes via SMS. “The chances of winning prizes by sending SMS is a new addition to GKSF,” said KN Satheesh, Director of GKSF.

The ‘Scratch and Win’ coupon that one avails while shopping at a GKSF registered shop will also have a unique code. This unique code is to be send via SMS. The format is GKSF unique code to 537252.Care should be taken while sending the code.

The shopping extravaganza - Grand Kerala Shopping Festival, is a Government of Kerala initiative. The version-4 of the shopping festival is all poised to turn Kerala in to a BIG shopping mall. The event has been conceived and organized to give a big leap for the trade and commerce in Kerala.