The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For this activity, that activity is 26516.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
26516 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for the activity named above: a sub-class of class 2651, manufacture of measuring, testing, navigating and control equipment, within division 26, manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 26Group 265Class 2651Sub-class 26516
Manufacture of laboratory analytical instruments and miscellaneous laboratory apparatus for measuring and testing such as scales, balances, incubators etc.
Sub-class 26516 · Class 2651 · Group 265 · Division 26 · 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.
265165 digits: 26 + 5 + 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 26516. 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 26 covers manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products. It sits in section C, manufacturing.
Manufacture of measuring, testing, navigating and control equipment; watches and clocks.
Manufacture of measuring, testing, navigating and control equipment. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of laboratory analytical instruments and miscellaneous laboratory apparatus for measuring and testing such as scales, balances, incubators etc. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
26516 is a sub-class of class 2651, manufacture of measuring, testing, navigating and control equipment. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - manufacture of telephone answering machines, see 2630
- - manufacture of medical testing and irradiation equipment, see 2660
- - manufacture of optical positioning equipment, see 2670
- - manufacture of dictating machines, see 2817
- - manufacture of simple mechanical measuring tools (e.g. measuring tapes, calipers), see manufacturing class according to main material used
- - installation of industrial process control equipment, see 3320
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 26516 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For this activity, that activity is 26516.
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
26516 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 2651. Each has its own page with the official wording.
26517Class 2651 · another sub-class of the same class26519Class 2651 · another sub-class of the same class26511Class 2651 · another sub-class of the same class26512Class 2651 · another sub-class of the same class26513Class 2651 · another sub-class of the same classClass 2651 has 8 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 26516. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of laboratory analytical instruments and miscellaneous laboratory apparatus for measuring and testing such as scales, balances, incubators etc., in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 2651, manufacture of measuring, testing, navigating and control equipment.
Class 2651, manufacture of measuring, testing, navigating and control equipment, has 8 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 26516, those with a page here are: 26517 (Manufacture of industrial process control equipment); 26519 (Manufacture of other measuring n.e.c.); 26511 (Manufacture of physical properties testing and inspection equipment); 26512 (Manufacture of automotive emissions testing equipment); 26513 (Manufacture of consumption meters for electricity, water or gas, flow meters and counting meters).
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 2651, 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.