It goes without saying that if you have ever seen the stack of rejected lottery claim forms in Nodal Office, not a single one of them was rejected for being unwinnable. Almost all rejected forms were rejected due to a tiny mistake in filling the claim form itself. Spending an evening studying the official rules of filling Nagaland State Lottery claim form and Sikkim version from sikkimlotteries.com after verifying your ticket number at lotterysambad.tv, I have noticed some interesting things which I would like to share with you. Filling the form itself is rather easy process but there are some specific requirements concerning filling that are the main sources of problems. Therefore, here is my personal list of fields where people make mistakes in filling the claim form without reading the regulations themselves.

Field 1: The Name Has to Coincide Exactly With the Name in the ID

It is obvious that people often make mistakes by using the variant of their name instead of copying it from their PAN or Aadhaar card. For example, if you have the name "Rajesh Kumar Sharma" in your PAN and "Rajesh K. Sharma" on the form, it will become the mismatch of the names and the claim form will be subject to additional verification. The rule is simple – you have to copy the name exactly as it is written in your ID, including the spaces between words. Middle names, surname, initials – all the words should be mentioned in the form exactly as in the ID.

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Field 2: The Address – Copy it from Your Aadhaar, Not Current Residence

Quite many people use their currently rented apartment address in the claim form since that is the address where they live now. However, the Directorate checks the provided address and your Aadhaar card and if the addresses do not coincide, it asks for additional verification. It is better to provide the address as it is in your Aadhaar card and if you have changed it, you can append the utility bill or lease agreement of your current residence as additional proof.

Field 3: Ticket Number – Include All the Information Including the Series Character

This field is one of the most amusing for its mistakes people make. The ticket number is not only six-digit number of the ticket, it is the series character of the ticket plus the number, e.g. "83B 32313" for example. Entering only the ticket number, skipping the series character or prefix becomes the sufficient reason for your form rejection. Therefore, you have to examine your ticket and enter the whole identifier of your ticket, including the series character, prefix and numbers in the appropriate format.

Field 4: Draw Date – Follow the Indicated Format in the Form

The draw date field is one of the frequently encountered source of mistakes due to differences in the formats. While the form requests you to enter the date in DD/MM/YYYY format, your ticket might have the date in a slightly different format. You have to enter the date exactly as it appears on your ticket and if you are not sure, just follow the format indicated in the brackets near the field on the form. Incorrect draw date is one of the mistakes that may raise the doubts of the officer regarding the validity of your ticket, therefore it is important to fill it correctly.

Field 5: Bank Account Details – Triple Check Your IFSC Code

IFSC code is the field which becomes the most prone to errors in the whole form. People copy it from old cheque book, remember it or just take the similar code. The IFSC code has to be the code of your current account and branch and it should be copied from the recently cancelled cheque or bank statement. One wrong symbol – instead of "0" you write "O" or vice versa becomes the reason of failure of your RTGS transfer and you money will bounce, causing the delays in the claim process. Personally, I triple check my IFSC code with the bank's official website before filling the form.

Field 6: PAN Number – Write Only in Uppercase

The PAN number field accepts the ten-character alphanumeric PAN number written in uppercase with no spaces between characters. Writing the PAN in lowercase or leaving the space somewhere in the middle becomes the reason of validation error during the checking the correctness of the PAN number against the Income Tax database. Moreover, the PAN you submit with the form has to belong to the same person as whose name is on the ticket – making a claim on behalf of another person involves quite a number of papers including notarised authorization letter.

Field 7: The Number of Claims in the Current Fiscal Year

This is one of the fields people usually leave blank since they do not know how to fill it. Actually, it is quite simple – disclose the number of lottery claims you have submitted in the current fiscal year. If it is your first claim of the year, you just write "Nil" or "1". A blank field becomes the reason of delay in the processing of the form since the officer requires all the fields to be filled.

Field 8: The Signatures on the Form and Ticket Should Match

Your signature on the form has to match your signature on the back of the ticket – otherwise, the Directorate will require additional verification of your identity. The easiest way to avoid this problem is to sign the claim form and immediately sign the back of the ticket in the same sitting with the same pen.

Field 9: Declaration Section – Tick All the Boxes

The declaration section near the bottom of the form has several boxes to tick and people sometimes miss one or two of them thinking that they are optional. Actually, you have to tick each and every applicable box and the date and place of signing have to be filled below in the same handwriting. Incorrect tick boxes become surprisingly common reason for the refusal, even if everything else is filled perfectly.

Conclusion

To conclude, the Lottery Sambad claim form is quite straightforward if you spend some time filling it and following the filling rules, but it punishes your lack of care in little details that people consider formalities. Matching the name, full ticket number with the series character, correct IFSC, capital-letter PAN and matching signatures become the five fields that determine whether your claim form is forwarded or refused. You should regard lottery participation purely as entertainment, buy tickets only from authorized retailers and fill the claim form carefully in one sitting with all your documents in front of you, because, frankly speaking, this is the difference between thirty-day claim and sixty-day claim.