On Thursday, 22 December, the Saeima adopted a law concluding the receipt lottery organised by the State Revenue Service.

According to the law, receipts issued until 31 December 2022 may be submitted for the lottery. They may be submitted for the lottery until 5 January 2023. These receipts will be a part of the December lot. In February, however, a final lottery will be organised for the entire year of 2022.

Assessment of the benefits of the receipt lottery indicates that it was initially seen as an effective tool used by the State Revenue Service to reduce the shadow economy by promoting the consumer habit of requesting transaction documents. It had a positive impact on the state budget revenue. Public participation was quite high during the early stage of the lottery; however, when the initial interest wore off, participation levels steadily declined. As noted in the explanatory note of the Draft Law, the effectiveness of the receipt lottery was fully dependent on active public involvement, therefore continuing the lottery is no longer suitable due to the decreasing public interest.

Authors of the Draft Law also state that the personal habit of requesting a receipt for the services provided or the goods bought has developed and taken root during the period of organising the lottery, thus promoting the registration of taxable transactions and fair competition.

The receipt lottery began on 1 July 2019. The aim of organising the lottery was to promote fair competition and voluntary tax compliance by urging buyers to request receipts and tickets for the goods bought and services received in order to promote changes in the tax paying culture in Latvian society.

Saeima Press Service