(a) Any importer bringing motor fuel into this state in a transport truck, or by other means outside the terminal transfer system, who has not acquired the fuel from a supplier or permissive supplier who has pre-collected the tax shall be required to obtain an import verification number from the department or its designee prior to the actual importation of that fuel.
(b) An importer who knowingly imports taxable motor fuel in a transport truck in violation of the provisions of this article, without either a valid importer’s license or supplier’s license and either an import verification number or a shipping paper showing on its face that the tax on the fuel is not due shall be subject to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each occurrence, to be multiplied by the sum of the current violation plus prior violations.
(c) When obtaining an import verification number an importer is required to show that number on a shipping paper or invoice associated with that specific load.