When the commission or an employee of the commission determines that any person or corporation is holding itself out as a charter-party carrier of passengers without a certificate or permit to so operate, the carrier shall pay the commission the fee established pursuant to Section 421 for the period during which it operated without authority, up to a maximum of three years, which fee shall be deposited in the Public Utilities Commission Transportation Reimbursement Account.
Ca. Pub. Util. Code § 5387.5