6. 9. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities L 244/1 (Acts whose publication is obligatory) COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1740/97 of 5 September 1997 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89 laying down rules implementing the system of aid for cotton THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Act of Accession of Greece, and in particular Protocol 4 on cotton, as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1553/95 ('), Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1964/87 of 2 July 1987 adjusting the system of aid for cotton introduced by Protocol 4 annexed to the Act of Accession of Greece (3, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1553/95, and in particular Article 2 (4) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1554/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down the genral rules for the system of aid for cotton and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2169/81 (), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1584/96 (%), and in particular Article 11 (1) thereof, Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89 of 3 May 1989 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1645/96 (%), lays down the detailed rules for implementing the system of aids for cotton; whereas, in order to improve the administration and control of the system and to avoid the risk of double payments on the same land, certain provisions of the integrated administration and control system (LACS) should be made applicable to the system; Whereas, in particular, the lodging of declarations of areas sown to cotton should be harmonized with the relevant rules provided for under IACS; whereas identification of L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 4. L 184, 3. 7. 1987, p. 14. 7 L 148, 30. 6. 1995, p. 48. J L 206, 16. 8. 1996, p. 16. J L 123, 4. 5. 1989, p. 23. 7 L 207, 17. 8. 1996, p. 3. the areas sown to cotton must be carried out in ac- cordance with IACS; whereas an additional measure consisting in carrying out cross-checks with the system provided for in the integrated system should be added to the controls carried out by Member States; Whereas Article 9 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89 lays down a time limit for the lodging of applications for supervised storage; whereas, in avoid to prevent the exces- sive withholding of unginned cotton by producers and, as a result, the deterioration of the quality of the stored product, Member States should be given the possibility of setting an earlier date; Whereas Article 9 (8) of Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89 provides for operators, upon application, to be granted an advance on the aid under certain conditions; whereas, with a view to clarification, the method for calculating the advance where it relates to several supervised storage operations carried out on different dates should be spe- cified; Whereas Article 14 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1201/89 sets 15 August as the date by which certain information relating to the current marketing year should be reported each year; whereas this date should be brought forward in order to make that information more useful in the man- agement of the sector; whereas the same provision also sets 15 August as the date by which the areas sown to cotton in the following marketing year are communicated each year; whereas, in order to facilitate the proper func- tioning of the system a communication covering the rel- evant estimated production should be added; Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 15 of Regu- lation (EEC) No 1201/89 provides for the possibility to fix in advance the agricultural conversion rate for the aid; whereas that provision can only be applied under certain precise conditions, in particular the mechanism for the advance fixing of aid as referred to in Articles 13 to 17 of