Refund Policy

1. Introduction

Agricultural and Biotechnological Reflections (ABR) is committed to providing a transparent and fair process for all financial transactions related to publication fees. This Refund Policy explains the conditions under which authors or other stakeholders may request a refund, as well as the circumstances where a refund will or will not be issued.

2. Article Processing Charges (APC)

ABR charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) for manuscripts accepted for publication. This fee covers the costs associated with peer review, editing, production, and open access publishing. The APC must be paid before the manuscript is published online.

3. Refund Conditions

Refunds will only be considered in the following circumstances:

  • Duplicate Payment: If the author has accidentally made a duplicate payment for the APC, they may request a refund for the extra payment. Proof of duplicate payment must be provided.

  • Rejection Prior to Peer Review: If a manuscript is rejected by the journal before the peer review process begins (i.e., after submission but before being sent to reviewers), the author may request a full refund of the APC.

  • Withdrawn Manuscript: If an author decides to withdraw their manuscript prior to the completion of the peer review process, they may request a refund of the APC. However, a processing fee may be deducted from the refund amount to cover administrative costs incurred up until the withdrawal request is received.

  • Editorial Decision: If a manuscript is rejected after completing the peer review process but before publication, no refund will be issued. This includes cases where the article is not accepted after peer review or editorial assessment.

4. Non-Refundable Situations

Refunds will not be issued in the following cases:

  • Post-Acceptance: Once the manuscript has been accepted for publication and the article processing fee has been paid, no refund will be provided, regardless of whether the author subsequently withdraws the article or decides not to proceed with publication.

  • Failure to Follow Submission Guidelines: If a manuscript is rejected due to non-compliance with submission guidelines, formatting requirements, or other similar issues, no refund will be issued.

  • Post-Publication Issues: After an article has been published online, no refund will be issued, even if the author requests to remove or retract the article from the journal.

5. Refund Process

To request a refund, the author must submit a written request to the editorial office at [insert contact email], detailing the reason for the refund request and including any necessary supporting documentation (e.g., proof of duplicate payment, withdrawal request, etc.). Refund requests will be reviewed by the editorial team, and a decision will be communicated to the author within 14 business days.

  • Refunds for duplicate payments will be processed promptly.
  • Refunds for manuscript withdrawal or rejection prior to peer review will be processed within 30 business days.

6. Currency and Payment Method

Refunds will be issued in the same currency and through the same payment method used by the author to pay the APC. In the case of credit card payments, the refund will be credited back to the original card used for the transaction.

7. Administrative Fees

In some cases, an administrative fee may be deducted from the refund amount to cover processing costs. This will apply primarily in cases of manuscript withdrawal prior to peer review.

8. Exceptions

The editorial team will review any exceptional cases on a case-by-case basis. Authors are encouraged to contact the editorial office directly if they believe their situation warrants special consideration.

9. Policy Review

This Refund Policy will be reviewed periodically and updated as necessary. Any significant changes to the policy will be communicated to authors and other stakeholders in a timely manner.