The request came after a company in Hanoi filed paperwork to clear customs for nearly 100 Toyota cars, claiming it has been authorized by the Japanese auto maker to import the cars into Vietnam.

Toyota Motor Corp. rejected the claim, saying Toyota Vietnam is its exclusive distributor, according to the VnExpress report.

Vietnam introduced a rule in June requiring car importers with fewer than nine seats to show proof that they are authorized dealers for the foreign car producers.

According to VnExpress, there are some 2,000 car dealerships in Vietnam and most of them import cars without being authorized by foreign auto companies.

In a recent case, Hanoi-based Hung Long Co. imported more than 40 luxury cars in September, but customs officials later found that the company had not met the authorization requirement.