Winning numbers for May-June uniform invoice lottery released

Taipei, July 25 (CNA) The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$305,562) Special Prize in the May-June uniform invoice lottery is 86396830, the Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday.

Moreover, the winning number for the NT$2 million Grand Prize is 53267964, while the three First Prize numbers for NT$200,000 are 39635796, 98978859 and 55566054.

Receipts with serial numbers matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers enable the holder to win NT$40,000, while invoices with serial numbers matching the last six digits promise prize money of NT$10,000.

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

The prizes can be claimed from Aug. 6 to Nov. 5.

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

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, the ministry said.

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.

In addition to releasing winning numbers for the May-June uniform invoice lottery, the ministry has also declared additional prizes for the cloud-based uniform invoice receipts.

Unlike the paper receipt lottery, cloud-based lottery winners are directly drawn from receipts stored digitally.

In addition to the above winning numbers, 30 cloud-based invoice receipt holders will win NT$1 million, 16,000 will win NT$2,000, 100,000 will win NT$800 and 1.95 million will win NT$500, according to the ministry.

The additional prizes for the cloud-based invoice receipts aim to encourage consumers to ask for a digital receipt instead of a paper one, according to the ministry's Taxation Administration.

Other than the redemption locations listed above, winners of cloud-based receipt prizes can also assign bank accounts for their prize money to be directly transferred.

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.