A Chinese retailer is being investigated over claims it passed off locally-made furniture as high-end Italian imports by shipping it back into the country to get import documents.

Da Vinci is alleged to have charged thousands of dollars for furniture labelled as imported -- even though it was actually manufactured in eastern China.

It denies the charge, but hundreds of furious customers have demanded refunds after state broadcaster CCTV first made the allegations in an expose of practices at the company, which is now facing an official probe.

State news agency Xinhua said that in the first half of this year, Da Vinci brought 11 batches of furniture that was made in China back into the country through Shanghai, citing local customs officials.

The manufacturers shipped the products to a special trade zone in the city where they were purchased by Da Vinci, along with import documents, the report said.

The Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce told AFP it was probing claims Da Vinci misled consumers about where its products were made, and would fine the company if it was found guilty.

"We will order Da Vinci to stop selling the relevant products and fine the company if detailed testing reports, which will be released very soon, confirm the initial findings," spokesman Xu Shang said.

The official investigation had already discovered products on sale for many times their true value, Xu said, including a 92,800 yuan ($14,300) bedstand sold as solid wood but actually made of fibre board.

Da Vinci officials declined to comment to AFP, but in a statement earlier this week, it insisted all its Italian brands were made in Italy.

The company has stores in major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, that cater to the growing ranks of China's rich.

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