The Uniform Invoice or Unified Invoice (統一發票 ), is a type of
receipt
A receipt (also known as a packing list, packing slip, packaging slip, (delivery) docket, shipping list, delivery list, bill of the parcel, manifest, or customer receipt) is a document acknowledging that a person has received money or proper ...
in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
that is issued by merchants for selling products and services, kept by both seller and consumer, with a 8-digit number for each one, for
taxation proposes, managed by the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Ec ...
of the
Republic of China (Taiwan) existing in many form such as hand-written 2-copy, 3-copy, and printed with cashier, and recently electronic Uniform Invoice. Uniform Invoice also features a lottery-like feature drawn every two months.
Description
The Uniform Invoice and lottery featuring was conceptualized by the first
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
(KMT) finance chief, Jen Hsien-qun (), to boost tax revenues in the early days of the KMT government. The introduction of this lottery on January 1, 1951, encouraged locals to obtain receipts for every purchase made with businesses with a monthly turnover of NT$200,000 (US$6,200) and above. As a result, the Finance Ministry collected NT$51 million (US$1.6 million) that year, representing a 75% increase from the NT$29 million (US$900,000) collected in 1950.
The lottery drawing in Taiwan held on the 25th of every odd-numbered month, i.e., January, March, May, July, September and November. Six sets of eight-digit numbers are drawn and announced in a 'live' televised ceremony presented by an emcee, during which four models roll out the winning numbers from hand-turned lottery machines. Six prizes are announced during the ceremony. As of 2011, the “Special Prize” has been increased from
NT$
The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollar ...
2 million (
US$63,000) to NT$10 million (US$342,000). “First Prize” of NT$200,000 (US$6,200) are offered to customers with the receipts matching the 8-digit numbers drawn.
Subsequent prizes valued at NT$40,000 (US$1,300), NT$10,000 (US$313), NT$4,000 (US$136), NT$1,000 (US$31) and NT$200 (US$7) are available to receipt holders who match the final 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 digits, respectively, on their invoices.
In keeping with Taiwan's "
convenience store culture", some major convenience store chains will redeem receipts for the smallest (NT$200) prize by allowing customers to buy that amount of products with a winning receipt; larger prizes must be redeemed at a government tax ministry office.
March-April winning uniform invoice numbers released
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In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the invoice lottery, the Finance Ministry announced a 33% increase in the total prize value to NT$7 billion (US$20 million) in 2011.
E-receipts set for trial run
See also
* Gambling in Taiwan
*Economy of Taiwan
The economy of Taiwan is a highly developed market economy. It is the 8th largest in Asia and 18th-largest in the world by purchasing power parity, allowing Taiwan to be included in the advanced economies group by the International Monetary ...
* Taxation in Taiwan
References
External links
Uniform Invoice Main Page (English)
{{Portal bar, Taiwan, Economy
Lottery games
Economy of Taiwan
Gambling in Taiwan
1951 establishments in Taiwan