A. A commercial motor carrier vehicle operated on a New Mexico public highway by a motor carrier required to be registered with the department shall have in it at all times:

(1) proof of payment of the trip tax; or

(2) both evidence of registration and a tax identification permit issued by the department.

B. The driver of the vehicle shall be able to display either proof of payment of the trip tax or both the evidence of registration and the tax identification permit upon request by any law enforcement officer or any employee of the department.

C. Upon failure of the driver to display either proof of payment of the trip tax or evidence of registration, it shall be presumed that the vehicle is subject to registration under the laws of New Mexico unless it can be demonstrated that the vehicle is exempt from registration requirements of the Motor Vehicle Code [Chapter 66, Articles 1 to 8 NMSA 1978]. A vehicle presumed subject to registration may be detained until registration, including payment of all required fees, is completed.

D. Upon failure of the driver to display either proof of payment of the trip tax or a tax identification permit issued by the department, the trip tax shall be presumed due. A vehicle presumed subject to the trip tax may be detained until the trip tax is paid.

E. A commercial motor carrier vehicle subject to and not in compliance with the weight distance requirements of the Weight Distance Tax Act [Chapter 7, Article 15A NMSA 1978] may be detained until the tax is paid. A nonfiler or zero-filer status or an inactive weight distance account is proof of failure to pay the weight distance tax.

History: 1953 Comp., § 64-34-16, enacted by Laws 1967, ch. 97, § 16; 1969, ch. 19, § 2; 1972, ch. 7, § 45; 1977, ch. 250, § 119; 1988, ch. 24, § 8; 1990, ch. 21, § 1; 1992, ch. 106, § 9; 2007, ch. 209, § 1.

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, added Subsection E.

The 1992 amendment, effective July 1, 1992, substituted "Documents; required in each motor carrier vehicle" in the catchline; rewrote Subsection A; inserted "either proof of payment of the trip tax or" in Subsection B; and added Subsections C and D.

The 1990 amendment, effective July 1, 1990, substituted "Documents" for "Cab cards" in the catchline; designated the former section as Subsection A; in Subsection A, rewrote the first sentence following "registered" which read "with the division shall have in it at all times an identification card, issued by the division, known as a 'cab card' ", substituted "tax identification card" for "cab card" and "motor vehicle division" for "division" in the second sentence, deleted the former third sentence which read "The cab card shall include all information necessary for use as a user permit under the provisions of Section 7-16-6 NMSA 1978", and substituted " 'evidence of registration' " for " 'cab card' " in the present third sentence; and added Subsection B.