[fddr]

It is true. The prize used to be a car, now it is government bonds.

It is fully automatic. You just tell the cashier your tax id number, and you are set. No need to keep the receipt.

[zepearl]

Thx!!!

Yes, I now remember my colleague mentioning a car :)

But well, I wouldn't have enough faith in XXX cashiers. I'd want a hard receipt (confirmation of submission on paper with some kind of checksum which I could confirm online if I wanted to).

[fddr]

You do get a paper receipt, which is just your normal sales receipt (which usually I just throw away immediately).

You can also check all your receipts online, on the Finance Ministry website.

[woobar]

So you have a centralized database that tracks all purchases country-wide? Maybe Portugal government could compete with Google/FB providing personalized ads...

[mynegation]

Screw the car. I want my receipts downloadable!

[sergiosgc]

Portugal is moving to digital receipts for individuals in 2019. If you give the cashier your VAT ID, no paper receipt is produced, and you may download the receipt from your IRS dashboard.

Anonymous paper receipts will remain valid, indefinitely (i.e. they are not being phased out).

[zepearl]

Sounds perfect.

[bogomipz]

I'm confused, what is the purpose of the automatic lottery ticket tied to a sales receipt?

I've spent time in Portugal and was never asked if I would like to participate. Is it only certain types of store or receipts?

[PedroBatista]

To combat tax evasion/parallel economy. The rationale goes: People want to get deductions and maybe even win a car, so they demand a receipt from business. That means said business can't keep that transaction off the books.

"Is it only certain types of store or receipts?"

Every business.