The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For collection of hazardous waste, that activity is 38120.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
38120 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for collection of hazardous waste: a sub-class of class 3812, collection of hazardous waste, within division 38, waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 38Group 381Class 3812Sub-class 38120
Collection of hazardous waste
Sub-class 38120 · Class 3812 · Group 381 · Division 38 · Section E, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
381205 digits: 38 + 1 + 2 + 0NIC 2025 · Notice dated 16 October 2026
On 18 November 2025 the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released NIC 2025, which uses 6-digit codes aligned with the UN's ISIC Revision 5. This page shows the NIC 2008 code 38120. The matching NIC 2025 code will be added here once it is mapped from MoSPI's official concordance.
How to read it
An NIC code is built in layers. Each digit narrows the one before it: the division, the group, the class, and finally the 5-digit sub-class. Divisions themselves are grouped under lettered sections.
The broadest numbered layer. Division 38 covers waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery. It sits in section E, water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities.
Waste collection.
Collection of hazardous waste. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Collection of hazardous waste. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
38120 is a sub-class of class 3812, collection of hazardous waste. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class includes the collection of solid and non-solid hazardous waste, i.e. explosive, oxidizing, flammable, toxic, irritant, carcinogenic, corrosive, infectious and other substances and preparations harmful for human health and environment. It may also entail identification, treatment, packaging and labeling of waste for the purposes of transport.
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 38120 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For collection of hazardous waste, that activity is 38120.
The company incorporation form asks for the main industrial activity of the proposed company by NIC code.
Not GST. GST registration does not use NIC codes; goods and services there are classified by HSN and SAC codes.
Choosing the right code
38120 is for collection of hazardous waste. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: other classes in group 381. Each has its own page with the official wording.
These belong to other classes in group 381, waste collection. 38120 itself is in class 3812. Use the search above for any other code on this page.
Questions
Collection of hazardous waste, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 3812, collection of hazardous waste.
In Udyam Registration, which asks for the business activity by NIC code, and in the SPICe+ company incorporation form, which asks for the main industrial activity by NIC code. GST registration does not use NIC codes.
About this page
The section, division, group, class and sub-class on this page, and the explanatory note for class 3812, are taken word for word from the official document “National Industrial Classification (All Economic Activities) 2008”, Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.
This is reference information on the classification of a business activity. It is not advice on which code your own business should declare, and the official NIC document prevails if the two ever differ. A change in the classification, including the MoSPI concordance to NIC 2025, re-opens this page for checking.
Not sure which code fits your activity, or spotted a mismatch? Use the WhatsApp button on this page and tell us what the business sells and how.