The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For this activity, that activity is 20123.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
20123 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for the activity named above: a sub-class of class 2012, manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, within division 20, manufacture of chemicals and chemical products. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 20Group 201Class 2012Sub-class 20123
Manufacture of associated nitrogen products (nitric and sulphonitric acids, ammonia, ammonium chloride, ammonium carbonate, nitrites and nitrates of potassium)
Sub-class 20123 · Class 2012 · Group 201 · Division 20 · 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.
201235 digits: 20 + 1 + 2 + 3NIC 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 20123. 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 20 covers manufacture of chemicals and chemical products. It sits in section C, manufacturing.
Manufacture of basic chemicals, fertilizer and nitrogen compounds, plastics and synthetic rubber in primary forms.
Manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of associated nitrogen products (nitric and sulphonitric acids, ammonia, ammonium chloride, ammonium carbonate, nitrites and nitrates of potassium). The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
20123 is a sub-class of class 2012, manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - mining of guano, see 0891
- - manufacture of agrochemical products, such as pesticides, see 2021
- - operation of compost dumps, see 3821
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 20123 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For this activity, that activity is 20123.
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
20123 is for the activity named at the top of this page. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 2012. Each has its own page with the official wording.
20129Class 2012 · another sub-class of the same class20121Class 2012 · another sub-class of the same class20122Class 2012 · another sub-class of the same classClass 2012 has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 20123.
Questions
Manufacture of associated nitrogen products (nitric and sulphonitric acids, ammonia, ammonium chloride, ammonium carbonate, nitrites and nitrates of potassium), in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 2012, manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds.
Class 2012, manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 20123, they are: 20129 (Manufacture of other fertilizers n.e.c.); 20121 (Manufacture of urea and other organic fertilizers); 20122 (Manufacture of straight mixed, compound or complex inorganic fertilizers).
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 2012, 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.