L 75/8 Official Journal of the European Union 15.3.2007 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 270/2007 of 13 March 2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 19732004 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 as regards the support schemes provided for in Titles IV and IVa of that Regulation and the use of land set aside for the production of raw materials THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 of 29 September 2003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers and amending Regulations (EEC) No 2019/93, (EC) No 1452/2001, (EC) No 1453/2001, (EC) No 14542001, (EC) 1868/94, (EC) No 1251/1999, (EC) No 1254/1999, (EC) No 16732000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 2529/2001 (*), and in particular Article 145 thereof, Whereas: (1)  Article 3(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 (3 provides for the communication of certain data to the Commission. As regards tobacco aid, the communication related to the indicative aid amount is required for the harvest year, and not the following year as mentioned in point (d) of that Article which should be amended accordingly. (2)  As regards crop-specific payments for cotton, communi- cations to the Commission required by Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 and by Article 171ai(3) of the same regulation are redundant. Article 171ai(3) should, therefore, be deleted. (3) In accordance with Article 71a(2)(d) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 of 21 April 2004 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of cross- compliance, modulation and the integrated adminis- tration and control system provided for in Council Regu- lation (EC) No 17822003 establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the common agricultural policy and establishing certain support schemes for farmers (}), Member States are bound to take into () OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 2013/2006 (O] L 384, 29.12.2006, p. 13). (®» OJ L 345, 20.11.2004, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1679/2006 (O] L 314, 15.11.2006, p. 7). (®) OJ L 141, 30.4.2004, p. 18. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 2025/2006 (O] L 384, 29.12.2006, p. 81). (6) account the application of reductions or exclusions to be applied to individual aid applications when fixing the reduction coefficient to be applied in case where the budgetary ceilings fixed for certain aid schemes are overshot. Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 provides for the fixing of certain reduction coefficients by 15 November of a given year. The overall effect of reductions and exclusions to be applied to individual aid applications are not necessarily known to the Member States by that date. Moreover, there is no need for the fixing of those coefficients by that date. Furthermore, experience shows that the fixation of further coefficients of reduction required by Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 is often difficult to execute by the deadline of 15 November of the year concerned. Given that there is no particular need for the fixation of those coefficients at such an early stage and that it is sufficient if the data are communicated to the Commission by 31 January of the following year but in any case prior to the granting of any payments, Article 4 should be amended accordingly. That amendment has an impact on Articles 3, 61, 69, 171bb, Annex III and Annex VI of that Regulation which should, therefore, also be amended. The report from the Commission to the Council on the review of the aid for energy crops provided for in Article 88 of Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 has underlined the need for enhancing the attractiveness of this aid for both the farmers and the processors. The implementing rules established in Chapter 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 should therefore be simplified. The system of securities guarantees that the raw material grown on areas benefiting from the aid for energy crops delivered to collectors or first processors is finally processed into energy. However, it appears appropriate to allow Member States to replace the system of se- curities by an alternative system of approval of operators designed to guarantee the same degree of effec- tiveness. Such authorised operators would have to comply with minimum requirements and would be sanc- tioned in case of non-compliance with their obligations, according to detailed rules to be set up at national level by the competent authorities.