The Journal of Computers, Mechanical and Management is a fully open-access journal. To support the costs of editorial coordination, peer-review management, technical infrastructure, indexing, and long-term preservation, the journal levies an Article Processing Charge (APC) on accepted articles. Submission, peer review, and editorial handling are free of charge. The APC is requested only after final acceptance and has no bearing on the editorial decision.
The journal applies a two-tier APC schedule, determined by the date of original submission. The trigger is the submission date, not the acceptance or publication date.
The same APC applies to all article types accepted under the standard editorial workflow: Original Research Articles, Systematic or Methodological Reviews, and Short Communications. Editorials are by invitation only and are not subject to any charge.
The APC covers the full publication service:
The journal does not charge for any of the following:
The journal applies a structured waiver scheme effective from 1 October 2026, designed to ensure that the APC does not present a barrier to authors from lower-income economies or to authors facing genuine financial hardship. The scheme is based on the World Bank country income classification, in line with the practice of major scholarly publishers including Wiley, Elsevier, Sage, Oxford University Press, IEEE, and Taylor & Francis.
Authors whose corresponding-author institution is located in a country classified by the World Bank as a low-income economy receive a full APC waiver. The waiver is applied automatically upon acceptance, with no application or supporting documentation required. The corresponding author's affiliation as recorded at submission is the basis for the waiver determination.
Authors whose corresponding-author institution is located in a country classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income economy receive a 50 per cent APC waiver. The waiver is applied automatically upon acceptance, on the same basis as the full waiver above.
Authors whose corresponding-author institution is located in any other country, but who can demonstrate genuine financial hardship in meeting the APC, may apply for a discretionary waiver. Hardship waivers are evaluated case by case by the Editor-in-Chief. Applications should be made in writing to editor@jcmm.co.in at the time of submission, with a brief statement of need. Applying for a hardship waiver does not affect the editorial review of the manuscript.
The journal commits to ensuring that at least 20 per cent of accepted articles in any calendar year receive a full or partial APC waiver. The waiver proportion is monitored by the Editor-in-Chief and reported in the journal's annual editorial summary.
Waiver decisions have no bearing on editorial decisions. The handling editor and peer reviewers are not informed of the corresponding author's waiver status during the editorial review of the manuscript. The decision to accept, revise, or reject a manuscript is made on the basis of scholarly merit alone, as described on the Editorial Independence page.
The journal applies the World Bank country and lending group classification current at the date of acceptance. The classification is updated annually by the World Bank in July. The current list of low-income and lower-middle-income economies is available at the World Bank country and lending groups page.
Once a manuscript is accepted and any applicable waiver is determined, the corresponding author receives an invoice from the publisher with payment instructions. Payment may be made by international bank transfer or by other accepted payment methods specified in the invoice. Authors who require an institutional invoice for processing through their employer's accounts payable system can request one at the time of acceptance. Articles are scheduled for publication once payment is received or a waiver is granted.
APCs are denominated in United States Dollars (USD). The publisher is registered in Malaysia, and any taxes applicable in the publisher's jurisdiction are borne by the publisher and are not added to the APC. Authors are responsible for any taxes, fees, or charges imposed in their own jurisdiction in connection with payment.
The APC is payable only after final acceptance. If the manuscript is subsequently withdrawn by the author after acceptance but before publication, the APC remains payable in respect of the editorial work already performed. If the manuscript is retracted by the journal due to publisher error or editorial misconduct, the APC is refunded in full. If the manuscript is retracted due to author misconduct, no refund applies.
The journal commits to maintaining the current USD 1,000 APC stable through the end of 2028. No further increases will be announced before then. Should a future increase become necessary, it will be announced at least six months in advance, will not apply to manuscripts already submitted at the date of announcement, and will be accompanied by a continued or strengthened waiver and discount policy. The journal recognises that repeated APC increases are widely regarded as a quality concern, and is committed to a stable and transparent fee schedule.
For any question about APCs, waivers, or payment, write to journalmanager@jcmm.co.in. The publisher will respond within three working days.
The journal's Article Processing Charge will move from USD 250 to USD 1,000 for manuscripts submitted from 1 October 2026 onwards. Submissions received on or before 30 September 2026 (23:59 UTC) will continue to be processed at USD 250. A tiered waiver scheme based on the World Bank country classification applies from 1 October 2026.
