Won big lottery prize? Submit ticket, pocket money within three days
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Lottery winners will now get their prizes within three days of submission of the winning ticket and the documents required. Speeding up the procedure will help boost sales and customer confidence, according to the state lotteries department. The new system came into effect on Monday, with the beneficiaries being those winning Rs 1 lakh and above.
Such winners are required to submit tickets at the Lotteries Directorate. Starting Monday evening, counterfoils of winning tickets are brought from the printing press at Ernakulam to the Lotteries Directorate in Thiruvananthapuram on the same day of the draw. Matching of the ticket and the counterfoil is done to verify the genuineness of a prize claim, a source said.
“Even before the new system, the department used to credit the amount within a week or so. But there were many cases of delay as the winners failed to produce related documents in time. Aadhaar, PAN and bank account are mandatory,” said the source.
Also, the prize distribution will be put on hold if there are legal issues. “That happens when there is a dispute over ownership, especially when a ticket is purchased jointly by two or more persons. In such cases, the prize will be distributed as per the direction of the court,” the source said.
The amount is credited to the winner’s account after deducting the 12% agent’s commission and an income tax payment of 30% on the remaining amount. The ticket can be submitted by the winner in person or through nationalised or scheduled banks or the Kerala Bank. Winners of all prizes should surrender the tickets within 30 days.
Income tax of 30% is deducted on all prizes above Rs 10,000. Thus, a person winning Rs 1 lakh will have a net earning of Rs 61,600. Tickets of prizes less than Rs 1 lakh are to be submitted to the District Lottery Office.