Refund Policy

The International Journal of Management Research (IJMR) is committed to maintaining transparent and fair financial practices. This Refund Policy explains the circumstances in which publication-related payments may or may not be refunded.

Authors should carefully review the journal’s Aim and Scope, Author Guidelines, Fee Policy, Peer Review Policy, Withdrawal Policy, and Publication Ethics Policy before submitting a manuscript or making any payment.

General Principle

Payments made to IJMR may cover editorial administration, manuscript processing, plagiarism screening, copyediting, formatting, production, online hosting, archiving, metadata preparation, and other publication-related services.

A refund request will be assessed according to:

  • The stage of manuscript processing
  • The services already completed
  • The reason for the refund request
  • The journal’s published fee terms
  • Any administrative, banking, or transaction costs incurred

Submitting a refund request does not automatically guarantee that a refund will be approved.

No Fee for Submission or Peer-Review Decision

Where applicable, authors should not be required to pay merely to submit a manuscript or obtain an editorial decision unless such a charge is clearly disclosed in advance.

Payment of any publication fee does not guarantee manuscript acceptance. Editorial decisions are based solely on academic quality, originality, relevance, ethical compliance, and peer-review recommendations.

Refund Before Editorial or Production Work

A full or partial refund may be considered when:

  • A payment was made in error
  • The same payment was made more than once
  • An incorrect amount was transferred
  • The journal is unable to provide the paid service
  • The manuscript is withdrawn before substantial editorial or production work has begun
  • A technical or administrative error occurred on the journal’s side

Any bank, payment-gateway, currency-conversion, or transaction charges may be deducted from the refunded amount.

Refund After Editorial Processing

Once substantial editorial or administrative work has started, a full refund may not be available.

Such work may include:

  • Initial manuscript screening
  • Plagiarism or similarity checking
  • Reviewer invitation and coordination
  • Peer-review administration
  • Editorial assessment
  • Revision checking
  • Communication with authors and reviewers
  • Technical manuscript preparation

A partial refund may be considered after deducting reasonable charges for services already completed.

Refund After Acceptance

A refund will normally not be provided after a manuscript has been formally accepted and publication processing has started.

Post-acceptance services may include:

  • Copyediting
  • Language correction
  • Reference checking
  • Layout and formatting
  • Proof preparation
  • Metadata creation
  • DOI-related processing
  • Online publication preparation
  • Issue scheduling
  • Archiving and indexing preparation

Where exceptional circumstances exist, the Editor-in-Chief or authorized journal administration may review the request.

Refund After Publication

Publication fees are generally non-refundable once an article has been published online or included in a journal issue.

After publication, the journal may already have completed all editorial, technical, production, hosting, and preservation services.

A later correction, retraction, withdrawal, or removal of an article does not automatically create a right to a refund.

Author-Initiated Withdrawal

Refunds relating to manuscript withdrawal will be considered according to the journal’s Withdrawal Policy.

Withdrawal Before Peer Review

A full or partial refund may be considered if the manuscript is withdrawn before peer-review or substantial editorial work begins.

Withdrawal During Peer Review

A full refund may not be available because editorial and reviewer resources may already have been used.

Withdrawal After Acceptance

Fees may be non-refundable after acceptance, particularly when copyediting, formatting, production, or publication preparation has started.

Withdrawal After Publication

No refund will normally be provided after publication.

Rejection of a Manuscript

Where a fee has been paid before the final editorial decision, the refund arrangement will depend on the purpose of that fee.

If the payment was specifically described as a publication fee payable only upon acceptance, it should not normally be retained following rejection.

However, clearly disclosed charges for completed services, such as language editing, formatting, plagiarism checking, or administrative processing, may be non-refundable.

Duplicate or Excess Payment

When an author makes a duplicate payment or pays more than the required amount, the journal may refund the excess after verification.

The author should provide:

  • Manuscript title
  • Manuscript identification number
  • Corresponding author’s name
  • Payment date
  • Amount paid
  • Transaction reference
  • Proof of payment
  • Details of the duplicate or excess amount

Payment Made to an Incorrect Account

IJMR is not responsible for payments made to:

  • Unauthorized individuals
  • Unofficial bank accounts
  • Fraudulent payment links
  • Third parties not approved by the journal
  • Incorrect accounts entered by the payer

Authors should verify payment instructions through the official journal website or authorized editorial communication before transferring funds.

Banking and Transaction Charges

Approved refunds may be subject to deductions for:

  • Bank transfer charges
  • Payment-gateway charges
  • Currency-conversion losses
  • International transaction charges
  • Administrative processing costs
  • Taxes or government deductions, where applicable

The amount received by the author may therefore be lower than the original payment.

Refund Processing Time

Approved refunds will be processed within a reasonable administrative period after verification.

Processing time may vary depending on:

  • Payment method
  • Banking procedures
  • International transfer requirements
  • Currency conversion
  • Verification of transaction records
  • Institutional financial procedures

The journal cannot guarantee the exact date on which a bank or payment provider will credit the refunded amount.

Method of Refund

Where possible, refunds will be returned through the original payment method.

If this is not possible, the journal may request verified bank or payment details from the corresponding author. Refunds will normally be issued only to the original payer.

Non-Refundable Circumstances

A refund may not be provided when:

  • The article has already been published
  • The manuscript has entered advanced production
  • Editorial or technical services have been completed
  • The author withdraws to submit the manuscript elsewhere
  • The author fails to submit revisions within the required time
  • The manuscript is rejected for plagiarism, duplicate submission, unethical conduct, or policy violation
  • Incorrect information was provided by the author
  • The author changes their decision after authorizing publication
  • The refund request is based solely on disagreement with an editorial decision
  • The payment covered a completed non-publication service
  • The request is submitted after an unreasonable delay

Misconduct and Policy Violations

Fees may be non-refundable when a manuscript is rejected, withdrawn, or retracted because of:

  • Plagiarism
  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Duplicate publication
  • Simultaneous submission
  • Fraudulent authorship
  • Copyright infringement
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Ethical approval problems
  • Manipulation of the peer-review process
  • Misrepresentation of research findings

The journal may retain relevant payment and submission records for ethical, administrative, and audit purposes.

Article Corrections and Retractions

The publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction does not normally result in a refund because editorial and publication services have already been completed.

Refunds may be considered only when the problem resulted primarily from a verified journal error and the Editor-in-Chief determines that a refund is appropriate.

Printed Copy Refunds

Refunds related to printed articles or journal issues will be handled according to the Paper Prints Policy.

A replacement or refund may be considered when:

  • The wrong printed item was supplied
  • The copy was materially damaged before delivery
  • The confirmed order could not be fulfilled

Courier charges, customs duties, and delivery costs may be non-refundable once incurred.

Refund Request Procedure

The corresponding author or original payer should submit a written refund request through the journal’s official contact channel.

The request should include:

  1. Manuscript title
  2. Manuscript identification number
  3. Corresponding author’s name
  4. Payment date and amount
  5. Transaction or receipt number
  6. Proof of payment
  7. Reason for requesting the refund
  8. Details of the original payment method
  9. Any supporting evidence

Incomplete requests may require additional verification before they can be processed.

Review and Decision

Refund requests will be reviewed by the authorized editorial or administrative office.

The review may consider:

  • The manuscript’s processing stage
  • Services already completed
  • The journal’s published fee terms
  • Transaction records
  • The reason for withdrawal, rejection, or cancellation
  • Any ethical or policy concerns

The journal will communicate the decision to the corresponding author or payer.

Editorial Independence

Publication fees and refund requests do not influence:

  • Peer-review reports
  • Editorial decisions
  • Acceptance or rejection
  • Publication priority
  • Reviewer selection
  • Ethical investigations

All editorial decisions remain independent of financial considerations.

Policy Review

IJMR may review and update this Refund Policy periodically to reflect changes in publication practices, financial procedures, payment systems, banking regulations, and scholarly publishing standards.