What the charge covers

The APC is the standard publication charge for an accepted article in HNCBT. It supports editorial administration, article production and the provision of open access to the published work. There are no additional standard page or color-figure charges. The fee applies to accepted contributions unless a waiver or discount has been explicitly agreed in writing.

When payment is requested

Payment is requested only after formal editorial acceptance. Authors should use the payment instructions issued through the journal’s verified publication administration and confirm any unexpected request with the Editorial Office. HNCBT does not charge authors to obtain a peer-review report or a favorable decision.

The standard APC is denominated in US dollars. Where an author pays using another currency, the payer’s bank or payment provider may apply its own exchange rate or transaction charge. The journal’s APC remains USD 350; any agreed reduction should be stated in the publication correspondence.

Financial assistance and editorial independence

Authors who cannot meet the charge may request a waiver or discount as described under Waivers & Discounts. A request should be made early enough to resolve the financial arrangements before payment. Fee assistance is considered separately from scientific assessment and does not guarantee acceptance.

Payment queries and errors

Send questions about invoices, payment status or an apparent duplicate or incorrect payment to the Editorial Office, identifying the manuscript number and the issue. Do not send payment-card details or banking credentials in a manuscript file. Any refund or adjustment request will be reviewed against the payment record and the circumstances and confirmed in writing.

The APC does not purchase database inclusion, citation metrics or accelerated acceptance. Published articles are immediately open access under CC BY 4.0.