Invoice Lottery Scheme Launched for Shoppers, Travelers

Don't forget to collect an invoice for your Chinese New Year spending and join a lottery to win cash rewards.

An invoice lottery scheme will be launched across multiple cities in China for shoppers and travelers who spend on retail, dining, or accommodations.

Starting at 10am on Thursday, shoppers can get a chance to win cash prizes that top 800 yuan (US$113) after validating the invoice through an online system.

A total of 3 billion yuan in cash has been allocated as prizes to individual customers over the next six months.

Individual shoppers who spend over 100 yuan on consumer goods, dining, accommodations, leisure and entertainment will be eligible when they obtain an individual invoice registered under their real personal identity.

Foreign residents and inbound visitors can also ask merchants to issue an invoice and verify it through the online platforms.

They can then enter a lucky draw system on five digital platforms, namely UnionPay Online, Alipay, WeChat, JD and Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok).

The whole program covers six periods through the end of July, one for each month, covering major festive occasions and public holidays such as the upcoming Chinese New Year, Labor Day holiday in May and the summer vacation.

A monthly average of 50 million yuan in cash prizes will be provided, and each individual can submit up to 30 invoices each month.

The cash prizes fall into five categories, namely 800 yuan, 300 yuan, 100 yuan, 50 yuan and 10 yuan.

The lottery-style tax receipt program is being rolled out across 50 Chinese cities in an effort to revive consumer spending.

According to the joint directive from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and the State Taxation Administration, it marks a renewed attempt to stimulate demand following a broader consumption push.

By reintroducing incentives for requesting invoices local commerce and tax authorities are hoping to drive spending in retail, dining, travel and other service industries.