Article Processing Charges Policy

At SMARCONS Publications, we are committed to transparent, ethical, and responsible publishing practices aligned with COPE’s Core Practices. Editorial decisions are based only on scholarly merit and are never influenced by payment, funding status, or author affiliation.

Current Policy (No APC / No Fees)

The Journal of Excellence in Management Sciences (JEMS) operates as an open-access journal with no author-facing charges.

  • APC: Not charged (USD 0 / PKR 0)
  • Submission fee: Not charged
  • No hidden charges: JEMS does not charge for peer review, handling, revisions, pages, colour figures, supplementary files, DOI display, or publication.

Authors can submit, revise, and publish in JEMS without any payment.

Optional Third-Party Services (Author Choice)

If authors use services such as language editing, translation, formatting, or figure design, these are optional and independent of the journal. Using such services does not guarantee acceptance, and the journal does not sell “fast-track” or preferential handling.

If APCs Are Introduced in the Future (Transparency Rules)

If JEMS adopts APCs in the future (for example, to support sustainable publishing operations as the journal expands), the following transparency requirements will apply:

  • Advance public notice: Any APC introduction will be announced clearly on the journal website and submission system before implementation, with an effective date.
  • Scope of applicability: The journal will state whether APCs apply to new submissions only from the effective date (standard practice), and how already-submitted manuscripts will be handled.
  • Clear fee disclosure: The exact APC amount, currency, and any taxes (if applicable) will be displayed prominently.
  • What the APC covers: The journal will explain what the APC supports (e.g., editorial operations, production, hosting, archiving/preservation, DOI registration, metadata and indexing support).
  • When payment is requested: APCs (if any) will be requested only after acceptance, never after publication, and never as a condition to receive a fair review.
  • Waivers and discounts: The journal will publish clear eligibility criteria, request timing, decision process, and expected documentation (e.g., unfunded research; students; low-income or lower-middle-income economies; institutional support constraints).
  • Editorial firewall: APC administration (billing/waivers) will be handled separately from editorial decision-making to protect independence.
  • Refunds and disputes: The journal will publish refund conditions (e.g., billing errors) and a disputes/contact route.

Public Display Statement

JEMS will always display one of the following clearly on its website and author guidelines:

  • “Article Processing Charges (APC): None. JEMS does not charge APCs or submission fees.”
    or, if introduced later, a full APC table with waiver rules and effective dates.