A submitted paper can be retracted at various stages;
1. Immediately after submission and after it has been acknowledged by the editor and an informal acceptance letter has been issued.
Usually, no publication fee has been paid at this point
In this case, retraction should be through an email asking the editor to disregard the publication and expunge it from the records of the publisher. No fee for withdrawal of the paper is charged by the journal.
2. Once a publication fee has been paid, a publication/manuscript has been formally accepted and a formal acceptance letter issued to the author.
In this case, retraction should be through an email to the editor asking the editor to disregard the publication and issue a Letter of Approval for the Withdrawal/Retraction of a manuscript. This letter can be kept as proof that the paper has been withdrawn and may be required by other journals. The publication fee is not refunded. Likewise, no fee for withdrawal of the paper is charged by the journal.
3. Once a publication has been published online
In this case, retraction should be through an email to the editor asking the editor to disregard the publication and issue a Letter of Approval for the Withdrawal/Retraction of a manuscript. This letter can be kept as proof that the paper has been withdrawn and may be required by other journals. The publication fee is not refunded. However, a fee for withdrawal of the paper of $50 is charged by the journal for the inconvenience of disorganizing the journal issue.