The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For this activity, that activity is 20237.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
20237 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for the activity named above: a sub-class of class 2023, manufacture of soap and detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and toilet preparations, 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 202Class 2023Sub-class 20237
Manufacture of cosmetics and toileteries (includes manufacture of pre- shave, shaving or after shave preparations; personal deodorants and anti- respirants; perfumed bath salts and other bath preparations; beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin, other than medicaments; manicure and pedicure preparations etc.)
Sub-class 20237 · Class 2023 · Group 202 · 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.
202375 digits: 20 + 2 + 3 + 7NIC 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 20237. 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 other chemical products.
Manufacture of soap and detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and toilet preparations. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of cosmetics and toileteries (includes manufacture of pre- shave, shaving or after shave preparations; personal deodorants and anti- respirants; perfumed bath salts and other bath preparations; beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin, other than medicaments; manicure and pedicure preparations etc.). The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
20237 is a sub-class of class 2023, manufacture of soap and detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and toilet preparations. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - manufacture of separate, chemically defined compounds, see 2011
- - manufacture of glycerol, synthesized from petroleum products, see 2011
- - extraction and refining of natural essential oils, see 2029
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 20237 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For this activity, that activity is 20237.
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
20237 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 2023. Each has its own page with the official wording.
20238Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20239Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20231Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20232Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20233Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same classClass 2023 has 9 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 20237. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of cosmetics and toileteries (includes manufacture of pre- shave, shaving or after shave preparations; personal deodorants and anti- respirants; perfumed bath salts and other bath preparations; beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin, other than medicaments; manicure and pedicure preparations etc.), in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 2023, manufacture of soap and detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and toilet preparations.
Class 2023, manufacture of soap and detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and toilet preparations, has 9 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 20237, those with a page here are: 20238 (Manufacture of “agarbatti” and other preparations which operate by burning); 20239 (Manufacture of other perfumes and toilet preparations n.e.c.); 20231 (Manufacture of soap all forms); 20232 (Manufacture of cleaning and polishing products (preparations for perfuming or deodorizing rooms; artificial waxes and prepared waxes; polishes and creams for leather, wood, glass, metal etc.; scouring pastes and powders, including paper, wadding etc. coated or covered with these)); 20233 (Manufacture of detergent and similar washing agents excluding soap).
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 2023, 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.