If a vehicle or engine identification number appears to have been altered, defaced, removed, substituted or tampered with, the Corporation may require a person specified in paragraph (a) or (b) to cause a new identification number, specified by the Corporation, to be stamped or displayed in accordance with the standards for registration—
(a) if a person is applying to register the vehicle, the applicant for registration of the vehicle;
(b) in any other case, the registered operator of the vehicle.