Refund Policy

Innovations in Science, Technology, and Society (ISTS) strives to maintain fairness and transparency in all financial transactions related to publication. This Refund Policy outlines the conditions under which fees—such as Article Processing Charges (APCs) or other publication-related payments—may be refunded.

1. General Principles

  • APCs and other publication-related fees are charged to cover the costs of peer review, editing, typesetting, online hosting, archiving, and indexing.

  • Because these services begin immediately upon submission, full refunds are generally not possible once processing has started.

2. Refund Eligibility

Refunds may be considered under the following circumstances:

  1. Duplicate Payment – If a payment is accidentally processed more than once for the same manuscript, the extra payment will be refunded in full.

  2. System/Processing Error – If a technical or administrative error on the journal’s part results in an incorrect charge, a full refund will be issued.

  3. Article Withdrawal Before Review – If an author withdraws the manuscript before the peer review process begins, a partial refund (up to 75% of the fee) may be granted, depending on administrative costs already incurred.

  4. Article Declined Before Review – If the journal rejects a manuscript before sending it out for peer review, the fee will be refunded in full (if payment was made in advance).

3. Non-Refundable Situations

Refunds will not be issued if:

  • The manuscript has already undergone peer review or entered the production stage (copyediting, typesetting, DOI assignment, etc.).

  • The article is withdrawn by the author after acceptance for reasons unrelated to the journal’s performance.

  • The author fails to comply with submission guidelines or ethical requirements, leading to rejection.

  • The published article is later retracted due to author misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data falsification).

4. Refund Procedure

  • Authors must submit a Refund Request in writing to the editorial office within 30 days of payment.

  • The request must include proof of payment, manuscript ID, and a clear reason for the refund.

  • Approved refunds will be processed within 14 business days through the original payment method.

5. Currency and Charges

  • All refunds will be made in the same currency in which payment was received.

  • The journal is not responsible for currency exchange losses or bank transfer fees incurred during refund processing.

By submitting a manuscript and making payment, authors acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agreed to abide by this Refund Policy.