Publication Charges & Waiver Policy

The Journal of Innovative Research in Management Sciences (JIRMS) is committed to transparent, ethical, and equitable scholarly publishing. Publication charges are applied solely to support the editorial, technical, and production services necessary for publishing high-quality, open-access research and maintaining the integrity, discoverability, and long-term preservation of the scholarly record.

Editorial decisions are based exclusively on the scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance of submitted manuscripts. An author's ability or willingness to pay publication charges does not influence editorial evaluation, peer review, acceptance, or rejection.

Publication Charges

Total Publication Charges: PKR 35,000. JIRMS does not impose submission and any hidden or additional publication charges beyond those publicly disclosed on its website. JIRMS operates a transparent two-stage publication fee model.

  1. A Manuscript Processing Fee (MPF) of PKR 7,000 (non-refundable) is payable only after the manuscript has successfully completed the initial editorial assessment (desk review) and the Section Editor determines that it demonstrates sufficient scholarly merit to proceed to external peer review.

The MPF supports the editorial and technical assessment of the manuscript, including:

  • Preliminary editorial evaluation and quality assessment;
  • Plagiarism and similarity screening;
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)-assisted content screening and research integrity checks (such as AI-generated text, manipulated images, fabricated references, or other integrity concerns) conducted under human editorial oversight;
  • Verification of compliance with the Journal's editorial policies, ethical standards, and submission requirements;
  • Assignment to the appropriate Section Editor and independent peer reviewers; and
  • Editorial management and peer-review administration.
  1. An Article Publication Fee (APF) of PKR 28,000 is payable only after the manuscript has successfully completed peer review, all required revisions have been accepted, and the Editor-in-Chief has issued the final acceptance decision.

                The APF supports:

  • Copyediting and language editing, where applicable;
  • Final plagiarism, similarity, and AI screening,
  • Professional typesetting and proof preparation;
  • DOI registration and metadata deposition;
  • Online publication and website hosting;
  • Indexing support and scholarly dissemination; and
  • Long-term digital preservation and archiving.

Waiver and Discount Policy

JIRMS believes that financial constraints should not prevent the publication of high-quality scholarly research. Accordingly, full or partial waivers and discounts may be granted to eligible authors at the discretion of the Publisher. Priority consideration may be given to:

  • Orphans;
  • PhD scholars enrolled in recognized universities;
  • Authors without external research funding;
  • Researchers from low- and lower-middle-income countries; and
  • Authors experiencing demonstrated financial hardship.

Waiver and discount requests are assessed confidentially and independently of the editorial and peer-review process. Receiving a waiver or discount neither influences nor prejudices editorial decisions.

Application Process

  • Submit a written waiver request to waiver@agasr.org before final acceptance.
  • Include the manuscript ID, title, and the corresponding author’s details.
  • Provide a brief justification for the waiver (e.g., “no grant support” or “low-income country”, etc.).
  • The editorial office will respond within 7–10 business days.

Confidentiality: All waiver requests are treated confidentially and do not influence editorial decisions.

Editorial Independence

Editors, reviewers, and Editorial Board members do not participate in financial transactions and are not informed of an author's payment or waiver status during editorial assessment. JIRMS maintains complete transparency regarding its publication charges and applies internationally recognized research integrity practices throughout the editorial process.

Payment of the Manuscript Processing Fee (MPF) does not guarantee acceptance, expedited peer review, or influence editorial decisions. Likewise, requesting or receiving a waiver or discount does not disadvantage an author during the editorial process.

 

Policy Compliance and Review

This policy is reviewed periodically to ensure continued alignment with internationally recognized principles of transparency, publication ethics, and scholarly publishing best practices, including the recommendations of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA). This policy is reviewed annually or whenever changes to copyright legislation, licensing requirements, or international publishing standards require revision.