Ala. Code § 45-26-242.25
Before any vehicle can be assessed, the revenue commissioner shall be furnished the tag number presently on the vehicle unless the vehicle is new, in which case the revenue commissioner shall be furnished a bona fide bill of sale from the dealer showing when the vehicle was bought new. In the case of a used car brought into the state from another state which provided that upon sale or transfer of the motor vehicle the tags are either surrendered to an appropriate authority or subsequently reissued by the seller, the revenue commissioner shall be furnished a bona fide certificate of title properly assigned which shows when the car was sold to an individual, firm, corporation, or association, living or operating in this state. If the tag number, bill of sale, or certificate of title is not furnished, the vehicle shall be presumed to have been in the state the entire year for which taxes are being assessed. Those motor vehicles brought into the state during any tax year and new motor vehicles for which licenses have never been issued that have been sold from the stock of a dealer during any tax year shall be subject to taxation as if they had been held or owned in the state on the first day of October.
Ala. Code § 45-26-242.25 (1975)