The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of matches, that activity is 20291.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
20291 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for manufacture of matches: a sub-class of class 2029, manufacture of other chemical products n.e.c., 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 2029Sub-class 20291
Manufacture of matches
Sub-class 20291 · Class 2029 · 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.
202915 digits: 20 + 2 + 9 + 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 20291. 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 other chemical products n.e.c. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of matches. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
20291 is a sub-class of class 2029, manufacture of other chemical products n.e.c. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - manufacture of chemically defined products in bulk, see 2011
- - manufacture of distilled water, see 2011
- - manufacture of synthetic aromatic products, see 2011
- - manufacture of printing ink, see 2022
- - manufacture of perfumes and toilet preparations, see 2023
- - manufacture of asphalt-based adhesives, see 2399
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 20291 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of matches, that activity is 20291.
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
20291 is for manufacture of matches. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 2029. Each has its own page with the official wording.
20292Class 2029 · another sub-class of the same class20293Class 2029 · another sub-class of the same class20294Class 2029 · another sub-class of the same class20295Class 2029 · another sub-class of the same class20296Class 2029 · another sub-class of the same classClass 2029 has 8 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 20291. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of matches, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 2029, manufacture of other chemical products n.e.c.
Class 2029, manufacture of other chemical products n.e.c., has 8 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 20291, those with a page here are: 20292 (Manufacture of explosives, ammunition and fire works); 20293 (Manufacture of essential oils; modification by chemical processes of oils and fats (e.g. by oxidation, polymerization etc.)); 20294 (Manufacture of photographic plates, films, sensitized paper and other sensitized unexposed materials,chemical preparations for photographic uses); 20295 (Manufacture of gelatine and its derivatives, resinoids, glues, prepared adhesives, including rubber-based glues and adhesives); 20296 (Manufacture of chemical elements and compounds doped for use in electronics).
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 2029, 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.