This policy outlines the journal/publisher’s position regarding third-party indexing services, Article Processing Charges (APCs), publication fees, and refund eligibility. Authors are advised to review this policy carefully before submitting a manuscript and making any payment.
1. Third-Party Indexing Disclaimer
Authors should note that indexing and coverage in databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, or any other indexing or abstracting service are managed independently by third-party organizations.
The journal and/or publisher has no direct control over the evaluation process, inclusion or exclusion decisions, indexing timelines, database updates, coverage periods, continuation, suspension, or discontinuation determined by such external indexing agencies.
The inclusion or continued coverage of a journal in any indexing database at any particular point in time is entirely subject to the policies, evaluation criteria, and decisions of the respective indexing body.
Accordingly, the journal/publisher does not guarantee, warrant, or claim permanent or continuous indexing of the journal or its published articles in any specific third-party indexing database.
Authors are responsible for independently verifying the current indexing status of the journal with the relevant indexing agency whenever indexing is an important consideration for their submission or publication requirements.
2. Publication Fee & Refund Policy
The Article Processing Charge (APC) or publication fee charged by the publisher is solely for the editorial and publication-related services provided by the journal. These services may include:
- Peer review management and coordination
- Editorial assessment and processing
- Manuscript preparation and formatting
- Copyediting and proofreading
- Production and online publication
- Hosting of the published article on the journal’s official website
- Other associated editorial and publishing services
Non-Refundable Policy
Once a manuscript has undergone peer review, has been accepted, and has been published on the journal’s official website, all Article Processing Charges and publication fees paid in relation to that article are strictly non-refundable.
Payment of an APC or publication fee represents payment for the editorial and publishing services provided by the journal and must not be interpreted as payment for inclusion in any third-party indexing database.
No Refund Claims Based on Indexing Status
If the journal is subsequently discontinued, removed, excluded, delisted, dropped, suspended, or otherwise no longer covered by Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, or any other third-party indexing database, whether such change occurs before or after the publication of an article, the journal/publisher shall not be held responsible for the indexing or non-indexing of the article by that external database.
Accordingly, requests for refunds, cancellations, compensation, charge reversals, or other financial claims based solely on a change in third-party indexing status will not be entertained.
The publisher’s responsibility is limited to providing the editorial, peer-review, production, and publication services associated with the Article Processing Charge or publication fee.
Author Acknowledgment
By submitting a manuscript, proceeding with publication, and/or making payment of the applicable Article Processing Charge or publication fee, the author(s) acknowledge that they have read, understood, and accepted this Indexing & Refund Disclaimer Policy.