(1) Any person failing to comply with the provisions of this subchapter by operating a passenger motor vehicle, as set forth and described in § 27-14-1002(a), or by operating a Class One truck, as set forth and described in § 27-14-1002(a), which is subject to registration under the laws of this state on any street, road, or highway in the State of Arkansas without having first registered the motor vehicle with the Office of Motor Vehicle, in the manner and within the period required by law or rules of the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, shall be required to pay a penalty of three dollars ($3.00) for each ten (10) days, or fraction thereof, for which he or she fails properly to register the vehicle until the penalty reaches the same amount as the annual license fee of the vehicle to be registered.
(2) No penalty shall be assessed if the owner or operator of a vehicle makes an affidavit to the effect that the vehicle has not been operated on any street, road, or highway in the State of Arkansas after the time set for registering the motor vehicle with the office.
(3) If the affidavit shall be false, the making of the affidavit shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine of from two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to five hundred dollars ($500).