(a) The commissioner shall provide by regulation for the issuance of an annual identification marker for every Alabama IFTA-based carriers' qualified vehicles and the qualified vehicles from non-IFTA-member jurisdictions, as defined in Article 9 of Chapter 17 of this title, for a fee based on administrative costs of administering the agreements pursuant to Article 9 of Chapter 17 of this title. The identification marker shall be in the form and of the size as the commissioner may prescribe.

(b) The identification marker shall be attached or affixed to the vehicle in the place and manner prescribed by the commissioner so that the same is clearly displayed at all times.

(c) The identification markers herein provided for shall be issued on an annual basis as of January 1 each year and shall be valid through the next succeeding December 31.

(d) All identification markers issued by the commissioner shall remain the property of the state.

(e) For tour buses, as defined in subdivision (10) of Section 40-19-1, the fee levied by this section (fuel identification marker fee or trip permit fee) and the motor carrier registration fee levied pursuant to paragraph a. of subdivision (5) of Section 37-3-32 shall be paid by a single payment which may be paid by check, money order, or other means as may be provided by regulation and shall be submitted to the Department of Tourism and Travel payable to the Department of Revenue.

(f) The proceeds from the issuance of the identification marker fees collected shall accrue to the credit of, and be deposited in, the Public Road and Bridge Fund.

(g) It shall be a violation of this article for a motor carrier to operate or cause to be operated in this state any motor vehicle as defined herein unless the motor vehicle displays the required identification marker in the manner designated by the commissioner; provided, that the commissioner by regulation may exempt from the requirement for displaying the identification marker such motor vehicles as urban and public transit motor vehicles or others if in his discretion they are clearly identifiable and the effective enforcement of this article will not suffer thereby.

(h) In addition, the Commissioner of Revenue may authorize the operation of a motor vehicle without the identification marker required by issuing a trip permit, valid for not exceeding seven days, for a fee to be set by regulation based on administrative costs of administering the agreements pursuant to Article 9 of Chapter 17 of this title payable in advance. Trip permits are to be obtained by motor carriers having only occasional or infrequent trips into and through the state. To be valid a trip permit must be supported by a valid invoice of current date showing that sufficient tax-paid fuel was purchased in the state to propel the vehicle for the number of miles it traveled over the highways of the state.

(i) In order for the department to have sufficient time in which to prepare the identification markers for transmittal to the motor carrier, every motor carrier subject to this article shall, between the dates of October 1 and November 15 of each year, furnish to the Department of Revenue an application, listing all motor vehicles operated by the motor carrier and for which an identification marker is required, giving for each vehicle the make, serial number, and type fuel used. The application shall be accompanied by a remittance in an amount sufficient to cover the fee or fees herein provided for.

(j) Motor carriers acquiring additional motor vehicles after the date of November 15 of each year must obtain an identification marker for each motor vehicle before operating the motor vehicle over the streets and highways of this state.