About 60 authorized centers for cashing in receipts with lucky numbers opened in Beijing's Chaoyang District Tuesday, the Star Daily has reported.

According to the newspaper, these centers include restaurants, banks and taxation offices.

Twenty organizations, including the Bank of China (BOC) Chaoyang Branch, have signed agreements with the Local Taxation Bureau of Chaoyang District to become authorized agencies for exchanging lucky invoices for cash.

An official with the Local Taxation Bureau of the Chaoyang District said that all the authorized agencies are major businesses, which have sound administrative system, enjoy high prestige and are easy for the receipts to find on consumers' part.

Consumers with receipts lucky numbers can get their money at a host of places including 30 business outlets of the BOC Chaoyang Branch and seven taxation offices of the Chaoyang District Local Taxation Bureau from August 1.

The practice of giving cash rewards to some receipt holders is designed to encourage consumers to ask for receipts and to prevent business operators from using forged receipts to dodge taxes.

Sources from the Local Taxation Bureau of Beijing Municipality say that the number of centers authorized to cash in these lucky receipts will exceed 1,000 in the near future.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2002)