How professional it is to ask for rebate in conference registration fees? I got two papers accepted in a decent IEEE conference. My current organisation (an industrial R&amp;D lab) says that the conference fees are way too high and they would consider approval of funds only if we get a rebate for publication. 

I have two questions:


Is it normal across the globe to ask for rebate?
Even if I do so, would it be considered professional? (The conference already has a discounted price for the second paper since authors are common in both.)
It is unusual and it is likely that the organizers would see it as unprofessional, especially if such request is coming from the industry.

How valuable are these publication for your employer? You could try to speak with someone at a higher level and persuade them to pay the conference fees. Alternatively they can advise submitting the papers to another conference with fees they are willing to pay. Or if publishing benefits you more that the employer, you can perhaps cover the difference yourself.