The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of basic chemical elements, that activity is 20116.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
20116 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for manufacture of basic chemical elements: a sub-class of class 2011, manufacture of basic chemicals, 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 2011Sub-class 20116
Manufacture of basic chemical elements
Sub-class 20116 · Class 2011 · 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.
201165 digits: 20 + 1 + 1 + 6NIC 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 20116. 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 basic chemicals. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of basic chemical elements. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
20116 is a sub-class of class 2011, manufacture of basic chemicals. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - extraction of methane, ethane, butane or propane, see 0620
- - manufacture of fuel gases such as ethane, butane or propane in a petroleum refinery, see 1920
- - manufacture of nitrogenous fertilizers and nitrogen compounds, see 2012
- - manufacture of ammonia, see 2012
- - manufacture of ammonium chloride, see 2012
- - manufacture of nitrites and nitrates of potassium, see 2012
- - manufacture of ammonium carbonates, see 2012
- - manufacture of plastics in primary forms, see 2013
- - manufacture of synthetic rubber in primary forms, see 2013
- - manufacture of prepared dyes and pigments, see 2022
- - manufacture of crude glycerol, see 2023
- - manufacture of natural essential oils, see 2029
- - manufacture of aromatic distilled waters, see 2029
- - manufacture of salicylic and O-acetylsalicylic acids, see 2100
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 20116 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of basic chemical elements, that activity is 20116.
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
20116 is for manufacture of basic chemical elements. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 2011. Each has its own page with the official wording.
20117Class 2011 · another sub-class of the same class20118Class 2011 · another sub-class of the same class20119Class 2011 · another sub-class of the same class20111Class 2011 · another sub-class of the same class20113Class 2011 · another sub-class of the same classClass 2011 has 9 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 20116. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of basic chemical elements, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 2011, manufacture of basic chemicals.
Class 2011, manufacture of basic chemicals, has 9 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 20116, those with a page here are: 20117 (Manufacture of distilled water); 20118 (Manufacture of synthetic aromatic products); 20119 (Manufacture of organic and inorganic chemical compounds n.e.c.); 20111 (Manufacture of liquefied or compressed inorganic industrial or medical gases (elemental gases, liquid or compressed air, refrigerant gases, mixed industrial gases etc.)); 20113 (Manufacture of tanning or dying extracts; tannings and their derivatives and colouring matter (including manufacture of indigo)).
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 2011, 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.