With the objective of encouraging customers to ask for receipts generated by electronic fiscal devices (EFD) and curb evasion of value added tax, the National Board of Revenue is going to hold the first ever lottery using the EFD generated receipts next month.

The revenue collector said it would hold the draw of receipts generated through EFDs from the first day of January to January 31 this year. The draw will take place on February 5, the NBR said in a press release.

The NBR also said the receipts on purchases from stores having EFDs will be treated as a coupon and requested shoppers to preserve the receipts.

The announcement came a month after the revenue administration introduced 101 prizes, including Tk 100,000 as first prize and Tk 50,000 as the second, to encourage shoppers to demand receipts for their purchases.

Purchase receipts issued from EFDs are a kind of VAT chalan, meaning the VAT paid by customers goes to the state coffer.

The NBR took the step to increase VAT collection from retail and plug the scope for dishonest business to evade indirect tax.

The tax authority started installing the devices from August last year and so far installed 1,078 EFDs, mainly in Dhaka and Chattogram.

The NBR wants to install 4,000 EFDs across the country and 10,000 by June.

VAT is the biggest source of revenue for the state and revenue officials and analysts on several occasions said the government does not get the actual amount of VAT paid by consumers owing to unscrupulous business practices.

The EFDs are provided for free to 25 types of businesses, including shops, hotels, restaurants, sweet stores, clothing, furniture, electronics outlets and jewellers.