A consumer who bought goods worth just Rs250 from a grocery store in Kanchanpur has won a Rs1 million bumper prize under the government’s tax incentive lottery programme aimed at encouraging consumers to demand bills.

The winner purchased the goods from Shiva Krishna General Store in Punarbas Municipality, according to the Inland Revenue Department.

The prize was announced under the Taxpayer Incentive Gift Programme launched by the department. The programme awarded cash prizes to consumers who made purchases between July 17 and July 31 through digital payment channels or uploaded their bills to the department’s website for cash transactions.

On Friday, 15 consumers were declared winners of daily prizes worth Rs100,000 each, while one consumer was selected for the bumper prize of Rs1 million, the secretariat of Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle said.

The Inland Revenue Department handled the technical arrangements for the lottery system.

The winners of the daily prizes were selected from transactions made on each of the 15 days, while the bumper prize was drawn from all eligible consumers who purchased goods and services during the first half of the Nepali month. The prize amount will be subject to applicable taxes.

Finance Minister Wagle had announced the taxpayer incentive programme in the federal budget for the fiscal year 2026-27, saying it would encourage consumers to seek bills and promote transparent transactions.

Under the programme’s operating guidelines, the department will announce prizes twice each month: on the 16th day of each month for purchases made between the first and the 15th of the Nepali month, and on the final day of the month for purchases made during the remaining days.

Consumers who pay through QR will be automatically included in the programme. However, they must retain their purchase bills to claim any prize.

Those making cash purchases must ask sellers for a PAN or VAT bill after buying goods or services, upload the bill through the Inland Revenue Department’s website, and obtain a coupon to participate in the lottery.