Article Processing Charge (APC):

Structure of the APC:

  • Article Review Fee: free
  • Editorial Processing Fee: free
  • Article Submission Fee: free
  • Page Charges: free
  • Figure and table colour charges: free
  • Article Processing Charge (APC): Yes, Required. Authors will only need to pay the Article Processing Charge (APC) if their article is accepted after the peer-review process. The APC is payable only upon acceptance, not before or upon rejection.

Article Processing Charge (APC):
The Article processing charge (APC) can vary by journal, ranging from USD 100 to USD 500. Authors must pay a fixed APC to have their articles published in the journal while retaining copyright. Authors will only need to pay the Article Processing Charge (APC) if their article is accepted after the peer-review process. The APC is payable only upon acceptance, not before or upon rejection. As per the open-access license CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0, authors own the copyright to their articles and have permitted third parties to use, distribute, or reproduce the content in advance and without limits1,2,3. To have an article published in an open-access journal, authors of accepted articles must pay a fixed APC. This is the primary responsibility of the corresponding author to cover the required APC and, if needed, reimbursement from their organisations or funding bodies.  

The Article processing charge (APC) can vary by journal, ranging from USD 100 to USD 500. The APC is payable only upon acceptance, not before or upon rejection. Authors must pay APC (see APC policy from the journal website) to have their articles published in the journal while retaining copyright. The journal is open-access and can be accessed online for free without subscription fees. For more detailed information, please visit COPE4 and ICMJE5. 

APC Waiver and Discounts:
The journal offers waivers on the APC. If authors are from classified countries or based in a lower-middle-income economy with a 2020 gross domestic product of less than 200 billion US dollars6, they qualify for a 10% discount in the APC. These authors can avail of APC waivers through the journal. 

Changes in the APC:
The APC (Annual Payment Charge) is subject to change, as the executive members regularly review it. Therefore, the amount to be paid can be altered.

  • Matrices of the journal.
  • Competitive analysis and requirements.
  • Associated revenue of the journal.

According to the Indian Income Tax policy, the APC (Article Processing Charges) may include local taxes, which will be displayed on the APC challan. The APC is a one-time fee per article, and it is non-refundable. Authors have the option to withdraw their articles before signing the copyright agreement.

Refund of APC:
Please note that the APC cannot be refunded under the following circumstances:

  • if the article has a copyright signed by the author (digital or scanned).
  • if the article is terminated according to the removal policy of the journal. 
  • if the article is withdrawn.

Utilisation of APC:
The APC (Article Processing Charge) is a crucial element for any infrastructure, particularly for open-access journals. It covers the expenses associated with publication. It is responsible for protecting the costs incurred during the publication process.

  1. to oversee the infrastructure.
  2. to manage the payment of all parties involved (including employees).
  3. to assist in managing all kinds of hardware and software resources. For example, anti-plagiarism software, website management, Printers, Laptops, etc.
  4. to pay the DOI fee.
  5. to pay for online and offline resources. For example, cross-reference membership fee (yearly), server fee, etc.

References:

  1. OpenAccess.nl – Open publications
  2. Berlin Declaration – Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities
  3. Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA)
  4. COPE- Avoiding predatory publishers
  5. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) – FEE
  6. World Bank – GDP Ranking