18 receipts win NT$10 million in November-December lottery

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) A total of 18 invoice receipts were issued with the serial number 13965913 that won the NT$10 million (US$304,615) special prize in Taiwan's November-December uniform invoice lottery, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Wednesday.

Another 15 receipts with the serial number 29892710 won the lottery's NT$2 million grand prize, according to the MOF.

Six of the NT$10 million special prize winners were for purchases of less than NT$100, including a Hi-Life customer who bought a drink in Taoyuan for just NT$35 and a customer who spent NT$45 for plastic bags at a life store in Taoyuan.

Among the 18 special prize winners, the biggest spender was a customer who spent NT$16,120 for religious items.

Among the 15 winners for the NT$2 million grand prize, one spent NT$45 on a drink at FamilyMart in New Taipei's Zhonghe District, while the biggest spender was for NT$500 of CPC gasoline.

The MOF released the winning invoice lottery numbers for the November-December period on Jan. 25. In addition to the two most coveted prizes, the three numbers for the NT$200,000 first prize are 26649927, 59565539 and 11460822, the MOF said.

The prizes can be claimed from Feb. 6 to May 5.

Meanwhile, the MOF has also drawn prizes exclusively for cloud-based invoices.

A total of 114 receipts and cloud-based receipts have been drawn as winners of the special, grand, and first prizes, as well as cloud-based NT$1 million prizes, according to the MOF.

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 win 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, 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 revenue.