TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A consumer's NT$30,000 (US$950) Taiwan receipt lottery prize was rescinded after tax authorities discovered that they had tried to unfairly better their odds of winning by generating thousands of receipts for small purchases.

The individual amassed over 10,000 digital invoices within 10 months and won more than NT$30,000 in receipt lottery prize money, reported the National Taxation Bureau of the Northern Area. As more than 90% of these receipts were for small-value transactions, the bureau discovered the irregularity and revoked the award money.

The bureau said on Wednesday (March 6) that while the probability of winning increases with the number of receipts obtained, the acquisition of invoices must comply with uniform invoice lottery regulations. If a large quantity of small-value receipts is obtained through unconventional transactions or payment methods without a legitimate reason, no prize will be awarded.

According to the bureau, the consumer referred to as Chia Chun (甲君) obtained over 10,000 digital invoices through online transactions from May 2022 to February 2023. After conducting an analysis, the bureau found more than 90% of these invoices were cloud invoices obtained through small-value transactions.

The tax collection agency said the Ministry of Finance has monitoring and reporting mechanisms for potentially abnormal winnings.