21 receipts win NT$10 million in September/October lottery

Taipei, Dec. 4 (CNA) There were 21 receipts with the serial number 28630525 that won the NT$10 million (US$306,789) special prize in Taiwan's September-October uniform invoice lottery, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Tuesday.

Another 14 receipts with the serial number 90028580 won the lottery's NT$2 million grand prize, according to the MOF.

Ten of the NT$10 million special prize winners were for purchases of less than NT$100, including a Foodpanda customer who spent NT$5 and a customer who spent NT$29 on a video game digital distribution service.

Among the winners for the NT$2 million grand prize, one only spent NT$30 for an iPass handling fee.

The MOF released the winning invoice lottery numbers for the September-October period on Nov. 25. In addition to the two most coveted prizes, the three numbers for the NT$200,000 first prize were 27435934, 39666605 and 02550031, the MOF said.

The prizes can be claimed from Dec. 6 to March 5, 2025.

Under the rules of Taiwan's receipt lottery, holders of receipts whose serial numbers match the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers win NT$40,000, while those with invoices whose serial numbers match the last six digits won NT$10,000.

Other prizes are NT$4,000 for receipts with the last five digits of any first-prize number, NT$1,000 for receipts with the last four digits, and NT$200 for invoices with the last three digits.

To collect a prize, Taiwanese citizens must present their National Identification Card and a winning receipt, the MOF said.

Non-citizens are also eligible to win the cash prizes as long as they can present their passport, Alien Resident Certificate or Entry & Exit Permit issued by the National Immigration Agency, according to the ministry.

Prizes up to NT$1,000 can be claimed at convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, OK Mart, Hi-Life, PX Mart and Simple Mart.

Prizes up to NT$40,000 can be collected from credit cooperatives across Taiwan, and First Commercial Bank, Chang Hwa Bank, and the Agricultural Bank of Taiwan exchange the prize amounts in cash for winning receipts, according to the ministry.

The uniform invoice lottery, drawn every two months, was created in the early 1950s to encourage consumers to ask for a receipt when making a purchase so as to boost tax revenues.

There were 114 winners in the September-October uniform invoice lottery who won the NT$10 million special prize, NT$2 million grand prize, NT$200,000 first prize or the NT$1 million cloud-based prize, covering total prize money of more than NT$285.80 million.

(By Chang Ai and Evelyn Kao) Endtiem/ls