A quarter of citizens request a fiscal receipt due to the prize game Take the receipt to win
The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Siniša Mali, announced today the start of the second round of the prize game Take the receipt to win. The first drawing of lucky winners will be held on Saturday, October 26. He emphasized that the state is continuing its fight against the gray economy alongside citizens.
During a press conference at the Srbija Palace, Mali stated that ten apartments in the Zemun Capija neighborhood of Belgrade will be awarded in this round of the prize game. He also noted that the final drawing in the second round will take place on Saturday, November 23.
Mali recalled that the first round of the prize game, which concluded in June, achieved significant success, and highlighted the importance of encouraging citizens to take fiscal receipts, which contributes to the fight against the gray economy and strengthens the state budget.
"It is essential to continue raising citizens awareness about the significance of combating the gray economy. Every fiscal receipt we take shows that we are more organized and successful, ultimately leading to higher budget revenues. When you don’t take a receipt, only the issuer benefits, while everyone else, including Serbian citizens, loses. That's why we constantly emphasize how important it is to fight against the gray economy and work towards building a better Serbia," the minister said, calling on citizens to actively participate in the prize game.
Mali pointed out that the prize game is fully digitized, with around 555,000 citizen accounts opened on the Take the receipt to win app. He also mentioned that each citizen can open up to four additional accounts to help others, particularly the elderly, with entering receipts if needed.
"We currently have about 150 million receipts in the system and around 180 million unique codes," he noted, explaining that those who pay with cards have a higher chance of being drawn, as card payments earn them two codes. This initiative aims to combat the gray economy and encourage cashless payments.
Mali confirmed that all receipts registered so far will be included in the drawing for the second round.
Highlighting the importance of suppressing the gray economy, the minister noted that significant progress has been made in this area, thanks to new e-fiscalization and e-invoicing systems.
He stated that reforms will continue, with the introduction of electronic delivery notes and an e-excise system, which will further help combat the gray economy.
"A large part of the work has already been done, but much remains to be achieved. Zero tolerance for the gray economy must be our goal," Mali said.
He mentioned that Serbia has a clearly defined strategy to combat the gray economy by 2025 and that next week will mark the tenth anniversary of the fight against the gray economy. He emphasized that the cooperation of all citizens is crucial for achieving success.
Vladimir Bošković, President of the POS Program, Better Way Initiative, and member of the Executive Board of NLB Commercial Bank, expressed satisfaction that joint efforts are being made on such a positive initiative with a strong social impact as the Take the receipt to win prize game.
"Recent research shows that when citizens request a receipt, about a quarter do so because of this prize game, demonstrating its enormous educational and motivational significance," Bošković said.
He added that the introduction of the rule that cashless payments yield double the chance of winning prizes serves as a vital incentive for citizens and small businesses to switch to electronic payments more extensively, which is not only more practical and secure but also greatly benefits society and the economy as a whole, as every digital transaction contributes to a more transparent tracking of financial flows, thereby combating the gray economy and strengthening the fiscal system.
He thanked the Serbian government, First Deputy Prime Minister Siniša Mali, and the Tax Administration for their openness to cooperate with the economy and congratulated them on the results achieved in digitalization, combating the gray economy, and strengthening tax morale in Serbia.
Predrag Kurčubić, Director of Ipsos, who presented the research on citizens and businesses attitudes toward the gray economy in 2024, noted that 61% of companies in Serbia believe that the business environment is good.
This year’s research results indicate that most surveyed businesses rate the business conditions in Serbia as predominantly good. Moreover, compared to the previous wave, significantly more of them believe that conditions have improved in the past year.
The research also showed that more than three-quarters of Serbian citizens do not justify the existence of the gray economy, continuing the positive trend from earlier surveys.
The ten apartments awarded to lucky winners are located in the Zemun Capija neighborhood. Regarding their size, two are one-and-a-half room (46.7 square meters each), two are two-room (54 square meters each), five are three-room (72 to 76 square meters), and one is a four-room duplex (102 square meters).
The total value of the prize fund, which includes the ten apartments to be awarded to citizens, amounts to approximately 1.9 million euros.
All receipts that participated in the first round of the prize game and were not drawn will also be eligible, in addition to those submitted in the meantime after the first round ended.
The drawing of the apartment winners will traditionally be broadcast on Radio-Television Serbia on Saturdays at 6 PM.
It is important to note that the Take the receipt to win prize game and the activities to combat the gray economy are supported by the National Initiative for Cashless Payments, a joint project of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Mastercard and Visa, implemented under the develoPPP program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with NALED and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia.
