The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For engraving, etching and block making etc., that activity is 18122.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
18122 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for engraving, etching and block making etc.: a sub-class of class 1812, service activities related to printing, within division 18, printing and reproduction of recorded media. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 18Group 181Class 1812Sub-class 18122
Engraving, etching and block making etc.
Sub-class 18122 · Class 1812 · Group 181 · Division 18 · Section C, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
181225 digits: 18 + 1 + 2 + 2NIC 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 18122. 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 18 covers printing and reproduction of recorded media. It sits in section C, manufacturing.
Printing and service activities related to printing.
Service activities related to printing.
Engraving, etching and block making etc. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 18122 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For engraving, etching and block making etc., that activity is 18122.
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
18122 is for engraving, etching and block making etc. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 1812. Each has its own page with the official wording.
18129Class 1812 · another sub-class of the same class18121Class 1812 · another sub-class of the same classClass 1812 has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 18122.
Questions
Engraving, etching and block making etc., in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 1812, service activities related to printing.
Class 1812, service activities related to printing, has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 18122, they are: 18129 (Other service activities related to printing n.e.c.); 18121 (Book and other similar sheet binding on account of others).
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 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.