Refund Policy

 

Author Fees and Publication Services

Refund Policy

This policy explains when an Article Processing Charge (APC) paid to Jurnal Pengabdian dan Pengembangan Masyarakat Indonesia (JPPMI) is non-refundable and the limited circumstances in which a refund may be considered.

Effective: 22 August 2026 Applies after formal acceptance and payment

Core non-refundable rule

The APC is non-refundable when authors withdraw an article after formal acceptance and before publication if the APC has already been paid. This applies to an author-initiated withdrawal for any reason and at any stage of copyediting, language editing, layout, proofreading, DOI or metadata preparation, or other production activity.

1. Why the APC Is Normally Non-Refundable

The APC is charged only after a manuscript has completed editorial assessment and peer review and has received a formal acceptance decision. Once payment is received, the journal allocates resources to publication services that may already have been performed or committed, including:

Editorial administration Integrity verification Copyediting Reference checking Layout and proofreading DOI and metadata preparation Platform and preservation services

The APC supports these publication services; it is not payment for acceptance, favorable review, priority handling, citation performance, indexing outcomes, or journal accreditation.

2. Circumstances That Are Not Eligible for a Refund

An APC already paid will not be refunded when publication is stopped, delayed, withdrawn, or otherwise affected for reasons attributable to the authors, manuscript, underlying activity, or data. This includes:

  • Withdrawal requested by one or more authors after formal acceptance, regardless of the reason or production stage;
  • A change of mind, intention to submit elsewhere, institutional request, funding problem, or disagreement among authors;
  • Failure to provide revisions, declarations, permissions, source files, or proof corrections required to complete publication;
  • Authorship, copyright, consent, ethics, privacy, or conflict-of-interest problems identified after acceptance;
  • Plagiarism, duplicate submission or publication, fabricated or falsified material, manipulated peer review, or other scientific or publication misconduct discovered during production;
  • Errors, inconsistencies, missing records, or problems in the data, analysis, methods, figures, or conclusions that make the article unsuitable or unsafe to publish;
  • Correction, retraction, removal, or expression of concern after publication; or
  • Dissatisfaction with citation counts, indexing coverage, processing time within the communicated workflow, article visibility, or other outcomes not guaranteed by the journal.

3. Scientific Misconduct or Data Problems During Production

Formal acceptance and payment do not prevent the journal from suspending or cancelling publication when credible integrity concerns arise. If scientific misconduct, unreliable data, serious analytical error, an ethics or consent problem, or another material defect becomes apparent during production or copyediting, JPPMI may:

  1. Pause production while requesting clarification and supporting documentation;
  2. Refer the concern to the responsible editor, institution, ethics body, or another relevant party when appropriate; and
  3. Withdraw the acceptance decision or terminate publication when the article can no longer be published responsibly.

In these circumstances, the APC remains non-refundable because editorial and production services have already been provided or committed. Non-refund is an administrative consequence and does not replace an appropriate research-integrity assessment.

4. Limited Circumstances in Which a Refund May Be Considered

A full or partial refund may be considered only after verification in limited circumstances such as:

  • Duplicate payment for the same invoice;
  • Payment of an incorrect amount caused by a documented journal invoice or payment-processing error;
  • Payment made to JPPMI in error before a formal acceptance decision; or
  • Cancellation initiated by the journal for operational reasons unrelated to author action, manuscript integrity, or failure to meet publication requirements.

Approval is not automatic. Each request is assessed according to the payment record, publication stage, work already completed, reason for cancellation, and any non-recoverable transaction costs.

5. Refund Position by Publication Stage

Situation APC status Refund position
Before formal acceptance No APC should be due Payment made in error may be reviewed
After acceptance and payment; author withdraws before publication Paid Non-refundable
Misconduct, ethics issue, or unreliable data identified during production Paid Non-refundable
Duplicate payment or verified payment error Overpaid or duplicated Refund may be approved after verification
After publication, including later correction or retraction Paid Non-refundable

6. How to Submit a Refund Request

A request must be submitted by the corresponding author through the journal's official contact channel and should include:

  • Manuscript ID, article title, and corresponding-author details;
  • Invoice and proof of payment;
  • The amount and date of payment;
  • A clear explanation of the basis for the request; and
  • Supporting bank or transaction documentation when relevant.

The journal may request additional documentation. The outcome will be communicated in writing. Authors who dispute the application of this policy may use the journal's Complaints and Appeals procedure.

Editorial independence

APC payment, non-payment, refund requests, waivers, or payment disputes do not determine reviewer selection or editorial decisions. The journal may stop publication when necessary to protect participants, the journal, or the integrity of the scholarly record, regardless of whether an APC has been paid.

Related policy

For the amount, timing, rationale, waiver considerations, payment procedure, and confirmation that no submission or peer-review fee is charged, see Author Fees.