Refund Policy

Article Processing Charge and Refund Policy

Last updated: 21 August 2026

Purpose

This policy explains the Article Processing Charges, introductory waivers, payment timing, waiver requests, refund eligibility, and refund-request procedure for the Journal of Robotics and Intelligent Systems (JRIS).

JRIS is published by:

Birmand Scientific Publishing Ltd

Registered in England and Wales

Company Registration Number: 17376010

Submission and Peer-Review Fees

JRIS does not charge:

  • A manuscript-submission fee;

  • An initial editorial-assessment fee; or

  • A separate peer-review fee.

Authors are never required to pay merely to submit a manuscript, receive peer review, or obtain an editorial decision.

Inaugural-Issue Waiver

All articles accepted and formally assigned by JRIS to its inaugural issue receive a complete Article Processing Charge waiver.

The APC for eligible inaugural-issue articles is: £0 GBP

No APC payment will be required for an article formally assigned to the inaugural issue.

Possible Second-Issue Waiver

JRIS may extend the complete APC waiver to articles accepted and formally assigned to the second issue.

If this waiver is extended, JRIS will publish an announcement on the Journal website and confirm the waiver in writing with eligible authors before payment becomes due.

Until such an announcement is published, authors should not assume that the second issue is free of charge.

Standard Article Processing Charge

After the introductory waiver period, the standard APC is: £200 GBP per accepted article

The standard APC is not calculated according to the article’s length, number of authors, number of figures, or number of supplementary files.

JRIS will disclose the applicable APC and any approved waiver or discount before payment is requested.

What the APC Supports

The APC supports publication activities that may include:

  • Editorial administration;

  • Management of peer review;

  • Copyediting and production preparation;

  • Article layout and typesetting;

  • Online publication;

  • DOI registration and metadata distribution;

  • Website hosting and maintenance;

  • Digital-preservation arrangements; and

  • Immediate open-access availability.

Payment does not purchase acceptance and does not influence editorial or peer-review decisions.

When Payment Becomes Due

An APC becomes payable only after:

  • The manuscript has completed the applicable editorial and peer-review process;

  • The manuscript has been formally accepted;

  • The applicable APC has been confirmed;

  • Any approved waiver or discount has been applied; and

  • The payer has received official payment instructions.

Authors should not make an APC payment during submission or peer review.

Publication may be delayed until the applicable APC has been paid or a waiver has been confirmed.

Payment Processing

Payments may be handled by a bank, financial institution, or payment service provider selected by Birmand Scientific Publishing Ltd.

Before payment is requested, the payer will be informed of:

  • The amount and currency;

  • The applicable payment route;

  • The information required to complete the payment; and

  • Any charges clearly disclosed by the selected provider.

The payer is responsible for providing accurate billing information and ensuring that the payment method is authorised.

JRIS does not normally receive or store complete payment-card or online-banking credentials. Such information is normally processed directly by the selected provider under its own security, privacy, and transaction terms.

Use of a payment provider does not replace or modify this Policy.

Additional Waivers and Discounts

After the introductory waiver period, authors experiencing genuine financial difficulty may request an APC waiver or discount.

Requests should be sent to: [email protected]

Requests should include the manuscript title, manuscript identification number, corresponding author, affiliation, country, and a brief explanation of the circumstances.

Waiver and discount decisions are handled separately from academic evaluation and do not influence peer review or editorial decisions.

An approved waiver or discount must be confirmed in writing before payment is made.

Refund Eligibility

A full or partial refund may be approved where:

  • The same APC was paid more than once;

  • An incorrect amount was collected because of an administrative or payment error;

  • Payment was collected despite a waiver or discount that JRIS had already confirmed in writing;

  • JRIS withdraws or cancels the paid publication service for reasons not caused by the author;

  • The payment cannot be matched to a valid publication service; or

  • A refund is required by applicable law.

The amount refunded will depend on the verified payment and the circumstances giving rise to the refund.

Normally Non-Refundable Circumstances

Once substantive production work has started, an APC is normally non-refundable unless one of the eligible circumstances in Section 10 applies.

Production work may include:

  • Copyediting;

  • Typesetting;

  • Article layout;

  • Proof preparation;

  • DOI preparation or registration;

  • Metadata preparation or distribution;

  • File conversion; or

  • Final online-publication processing.

A refund will not normally be provided where:

  • An author withdraws the article after formal acceptance or after production has started;

  • An author or payer changes their mind after authorising payment;

  • Funding becomes unavailable after payment;

  • An author later obtains funding from another source;

  • An author disagrees with an editorial decision unrelated to the payment;

  • Publication is delayed because the authors have not supplied required corrections, documents, responses, or approvals;

  • An article is corrected, retracted, or withdrawn because of plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, falsification, authorship misconduct, ethical non-compliance, or another breach attributable to the authors; or

  • An author fails to comply with the publication agreement or Journal policies.

Nothing in this Policy limits statutory rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Refund-Request Procedure

Refund requests must be sent to: [email protected]

The request should include:

  • Manuscript identification number;

  • Article title;

  • Corresponding author’s name;

  • Payer’s name and email address;

  • Payment date;

  • Amount and currency;

  • Invoice, receipt, or transaction reference;

  • Reason for requesting the refund; and

  • Supporting documentation where relevant.

JRIS may request additional information reasonably necessary to verify the payment and request.

Review and Decision

JRIS will acknowledge a complete refund request within a reasonable period.

The request will be reviewed against:

  • This Policy;

  • The payment record;

  • The article’s editorial and production status;

  • Any approved waiver or discount;

  • The reason for cancellation or withdrawal; and

  • Applicable legal requirements.

Approval or refusal will be communicated to the requester in writing.

Where a refund is approved, it will normally be returned through the original payment route where technically and legally possible. Processing time may depend on the financial institution or payment provider.

JRIS will not require an author to waive a legal right as a condition of receiving a refund that is otherwise legally due.

Bank, Conversion, and Intermediary Charges

Where a payment or refund involves bank-transfer charges, currency conversion, correspondent-bank fees, or similar external charges, the amount ultimately received may be affected by the relevant financial institutions.

JRIS will not impose an undisclosed administrative refund fee. Any unavoidable external charge will be disclosed where known.

Chargebacks and Payment Disputes

Payers should contact JRIS before initiating a chargeback or payment dispute so that the matter can be investigated.

This does not prevent a payer from exercising rights available through their bank, payment provider, or applicable law.

Fraudulent or abusive payment disputes may result in suspension of the relevant account or publication process while the matter is investigated.

Editorial Independence

APC payment, waiver eligibility, refund requests, financial circumstances, or the identity of the payer must not determine whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected.

Editors and reviewers assess manuscripts according to academic quality, originality, relevance, methodology, ethical compliance, and the applicable editorial policies.

Changes to This Policy

JRIS may update this Policy when its fees, payment arrangements, publication services, or legal obligations change.

The revised Policy will be published with an updated date. Changes will not normally be applied retrospectively to remove a right already confirmed for a completed payment.

Contact

For questions about APCs, waivers, payments, or refunds, contact:

Journal of Robotics and Intelligent Systems

Birmand Scientific Publishing Ltd