NEW DELHI, Oct 9 (Reuters) - India should not retrospectively apply a controversial rule to tax asset transfers, a government panel said in a draft report, potentially providing relief to British mobile phone operator Vodafone .
The retrospective tax measure introduced this year was widely seen as targeting Vodafone, after the government lost a legal battle to claim about $2 billion from the company related to its 2007 acquisition of Indian mobile phone assets.
The draft report, published on Tuesday, also said the government should not levy any penalty interest in cases where tax demands have been raised following the amendment of tax rules retrospectively in March.
The panel will receive public feedback on its recommendations before publishing a final report which will influence the government's decision on taxing Vodafone and other similar deals.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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Keywords: INDIA TAX/