SHANGHAI, July 12 (Reuters) - China's Chery CHERY.UL denied that it improperly claimed government subsidies for eco-friendly vehicles, according to a statement the automaker posted on Saturday.

An audit by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology disqualified declarations by Chery and BYD 1211.HK for a combined $53 million in government subsidies for thousands of eco-friendly vehicles sold in the five years to 2020, accounting for nearly 60% of such improper claims.

Chery said it had previously consulted the authorities about the challenges of missing receipts because the cars were sold more than five years ago but the government still advised Chery to declare the cars.

"Our company has truthfully reported to the authorities our failure to collect certificates for end sales; there's no fraudulent act," Chery said in the statement.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

((Zoey.Zhang@thomsonreuters.com;))