The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of machinery for the dairy industry, that activity is 28251.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
28251 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for manufacture of machinery for the dairy industry: a sub-class of class 2825, manufacture of machinery for food, beverage and tobacco processing, within division 28, manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 28Group 282Class 2825Sub-class 28251
Manufacture of machinery for the dairy industry
Sub-class 28251 · Class 2825 · Group 282 · Division 28 · 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.
282515 digits: 28 + 2 + 5 + 1NIC 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 28251. 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 28 covers manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. It sits in section C, manufacturing.
Manufacture of special-purpose machinery.
Manufacture of machinery for food, beverage and tobacco processing. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of machinery for the dairy industry. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
28251 is a sub-class of class 2825, manufacture of machinery for food, beverage and tobacco processing. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - manufacture of food and milk irradiation equipment, see 2660
- - manufacture of packing, wrapping and weighing machinery, see 2819
- - manufacture of cleaning, sorting or grading machinery for eggs, fruit or other crops (except seeds, grains and dried leguminous vegetables), see 2821
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 28251 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of machinery for the dairy industry, that activity is 28251.
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
28251 is for manufacture of machinery for the dairy industry. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 2825. Each has its own page with the official wording.
28252Class 2825 · another sub-class of the same class28253Class 2825 · another sub-class of the same class28254Class 2825 · another sub-class of the same class28255Class 2825 · another sub-class of the same class28259Class 2825 · another sub-class of the same classClass 2825 has 7 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 28251. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of machinery for the dairy industry, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 2825, manufacture of machinery for food, beverage and tobacco processing.
Class 2825, manufacture of machinery for food, beverage and tobacco processing, has 7 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 28251, those with a page here are: 28252 (Manufacture of machinery for the grain milling industry); 28253 (Manufacture of presses, crushers etc. used to make wine, cider, fruit juices etc.); 28254 (Manufacture of machinery for the bakery industry or for making macaroni, noodles, pasta etc.); 28255 (Manufacture of machinery for the extraction or preparation of animal or vegetable fats or oils); 28259 (Manufacture of other machinery for the industrial preparation or manufacture of food or drink n.e.c. (including tea or coffee making machines)).
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 2825, 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.