The Beijing's National Palace Museum avoids paying tax by selling visitors exhibition tickets without official seals, according to web users.

The exhibition tickets without official seals.[File photo]

Exhibitions on the lives of emperors, palace maids and imperial concubines are held in the museum, housed in the Forbidden City.

Visitors must buy tickets to view these, Legal Evening News reported yesterday.

However, visitors complained that in addition to the exhibitions being shabby and limited, there were no official seals on the tickets.

"The museum is openly taking money from visitors without putting it through the books," said Chen Bingcai, a former official with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, who first made the claims online.

Chen asked: "What is the watchdog doing?"

Daily ticket income from the exhibitions could amount to more than 6,000 yuan (US$939), Chen said.

If a ticket doesn't have a standard seal for invoicing or one from the tax authorities, the museum is considered trying to evade tax. Visitors should file a complaint with the Beijing Local Taxation Bureau, a bureau official told the newspaper.

The museum did not respond to the allegations.

It has been hit by a series of recent scandals, including claims it tried to cover up that a rare plate was broken in a scientific test and that a screen was damaged during cleaning.