Section 2. Definition of Terms.— As used in this Act:

1. Body building refers to a job undertaken on a motor vehicle in order to replace its entire body with a new body;

2. Defacing or tampering with a serial number refers to the altering, changing, erasing, replacing or scratching of the original factory inscribed serial number on the motor vehicle engine, engine block or chassis of any motor vehicle. Whenever any motor vehicle is found to have a serial number on its engine, engine block or chassis which is different from that which is listed in the records of the Bureau of Customs for motor vehicle imported into the Philippines, that motor vehicle shall be considered to have a defaced or tampered serial number;

3. Dismantling refers to the tearing apart, piece-by-piece or part-by-part, of a motor vehicle;

4. Identity transfer refers to the act of transferring the engine number, chassis number, body tag number, plate number, and any other identifying marks of a motor vehicle declared as “total wreck” or is beyond economic repair by concerned car insurance companies and/or law enforcement agencies after its involvement in a vehicular accident or other incident and registers the same into another factory-made body or vehicle unit, of the same classification, type, make or model;

5. Motor vehicle refers to any vehicle propelled by any power other than muscular power using the public highways, except road rollers, trolley cars, street sweepers, sprinklers, lawn mowers, bulldozers, graders, forklifts, amphibian trucks, and cranes if not used on public highways; vehicles which run only on rails or tracks; and tractors, trailers and traction engines of all kinds used exclusively for agricultural purposes. Trailers having any number of wheels, when propelled or intended to be propelled by attachment to a motor vehicle, shall be classified as a separate motor vehicle with no power rating;

6. Overhauling refers to the cleaning or repairing of the whole engine of a motor vehicle by separating the motor engine and its parts from the body of the motor vehicle;

7. Repainting refers to changing the color of a motor vehicle by means of painting. There is painting whenever the new color of a motor vehicle is different from its color registered in the Land Transportation Office (LTO);

8. Remodeling refers to the introduction of some changes in the shape or form of the body of the motor vehicle;

9. Second hand spare parts refer to the parts taken from a carnapped vehicle used in assembling another vehicle;

10. Total wreck refers to the state or status of a motor vehicle after a vehicular accident or other incident, so that it is rendered inoperational and beyond economic repair due to the extent of damage in its body, chassis and engine; and

11. Unlawful transfer or use of vehicle plates refers to the use or transfer of a vehicle plate issued by the LTO to a certain vehicle to another vehicle. It is presumed illegally transferred when the motor vehicle plate does not correspond with that as appearing in the certificate of registration of the motor vehicle to which it was issued.