39:10B-4. Violations; penalties; defenses; prima facie evidence; burden of proof

a. It shall be unlawful for a person to sell or offer for sale or transport a major motor vehicle component part or motor vehicle if a manufacturer's part number, an identification number required by section 2 of this act, or a number assigned by the division under section 3 of this act shall have been destroyed, removed, altered, defaced or so covered as to be concealed.

b. It shall be unlawful for a person to sell or offer for sale a component part from a motor vehicle less than three years old without providing the purchaser with an invoice indicating:

(1) The name and address of the seller and the purchaser;

(2) The price of the component part;

(3) The year, make, model and color of the motor vehicle from which the component part was removed; and

(4) The vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle from which the component part was removed.

c. It shall be unlawful for a person to purchase a major motor vehicle component part from a motor vehicle less than three years old without obtaining from the seller the invoice defined in subsection b. of this section.

d. It shall be unlawful for a person to transport a major motor vehicle component part unless that component part has been marked with an identification number as required by section 2 of this act or an identification number assigned by the division under subsection e. of section 3 of this act and the transporter has in his possession an invoice indicating:

(1) The name and address of the owner of the component part;

(2) The price of the component part;

(3) The year, make, model and color of the motor vehicle from which the component part was removed; and

(4) The vehicle identification number of the motor vehicle from which the component part was removed.

e. A person selling, offering to sell, transporting or purchasing a major motor vehicle component part or a motor vehicle in violation of the provisions of subsections a., b., c., or d. of this section is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree. A person who willfully removes, defaces, covers, alters or destroys a manufacturer's part number, an identification number required by section 2 of this act, or a number assigned by the division under section 3 of this act, is guilty of a crime of the third degree.

A person having possession of a major motor vehicle component part or a motor vehicle of which a manufacturer's part number, an identification number required by section 2 of this act, or a number assigned by the division under section 3 of this act, has been destroyed, removed, altered, defaced or so covered as to be concealed is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree. Upon prosecution under this section lack of knowledge of the condition of the number of the vehicle or part shall constitute a defense; but possession shall be prima facie evidence that the defendant had knowledge of the condition, and the burden of proof shall be upon him that he had no knowledge.

L.1983, c. 368, s. 4.