Refund Policy

Al-Bahath APC, Fee Structure & Refund Policy

Policy Statement:

Al-Bahath is committed to absolute transparency regarding publication costs. Article Processing Charges (APCs) directly support peer-review management, professional layout editing, DOI assignment, metadata indexing, and perpetual digital archiving. Payment of an APC does not guarantee acceptance, and editorial decisions remain strictly independent of financial transactions.

Fee Structure & Transparency

Fee Category Description Amount / Standard
Submission Fee Fee required at initial manuscript submission. $0 / Free (Al-Bahath does not charge to submit)
Article Processing Charge (APC) Charged only after formal peer-review acceptance. Standard Rate (e.g., $300 - $500 USD)
Waiver & Discount Eligibility Financial hardship, low-income country research (Research4Life List A/B). Up to 100% Waiver (must apply during submission)
Fast-Track Guarantee Guaranteed rapid peer-review decision. Strictly Prohibited (Reviews cannot be bought)

Refund Policy Rules

 

1.Publisher Technical Failure or Accidental Double Payment:100% Refund Granted.

Full refunds are issued if:

  • The author accidentally pays the APC more than once for the same manuscript.

  • Al-Bahath fails to publish an accepted article due to an internal technical, administrative, or operational failure that cannot be resolved within 60 days.

2.Editorial Decision Reversal Post-Payment:Full Refund Granted.

If an article is accepted and paid for, but the Editorial Board subsequently revokes acceptance due to an internal journal administrative error (unrelated to author misconduct or peer review failure), a 100% refund will be issued.

3.Post-Publication Retraction or Removal:No Refund.

If an article is retracted or removed after publication due to data fabrication, severe plagiarism, breach of ethics, copyright infringement, or author misconduct, no refund will be granted. The APC covers services already rendered.

4.Author-Initiated Withdrawal Post-Acceptance:No Refund.

If an author requests manuscript withdrawal after the paper has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and the APC has been processed, no refund will be issued, as substantial editorial resources have already been expended.

 

APC Waivers & Financial Assistance

To ensure that financial constraints do not impede high-quality research from being published, Al-Bahath enforces a strict Equity in Publishing waiver program:

  • Automatic Full Waivers (100%): Corresponding authors based in countries classified by the World Bank as Low-Income Economies (or Research4Life Group A).

  • Partial Waivers (50%): Corresponding authors based in Lower-Middle-Income Economies (Research4Life Group B).

  • Discretionary Waivers: Authors experiencing severe, documented institutional or personal financial hardship may apply for a waiver at the time of initial manuscript submission.

Crucial Rule on Waivers: Waiver requests must be submitted during the initial manuscript submission. Requests submitted after an article has been accepted or during the peer-review process will not be considered. Peer reviewers and handling editors have no access to author financial or waiver data.

Refund Processing & Dispute Resolution

  1. Refund Requests: Must be submitted in writing by the corresponding author to the Editorial Office with proof of payment and official justification.

  2. Processing Timeframe: Approved refunds will be processed within 14 to 21 business days via the original method of payment (bank transfer or credit card).

  3. Transaction Fees: Any banking, currency conversion, or transaction fees incurred during payment or refund processing are the responsibility of the remitting author or institution, unless the refund is due to publisher error.