The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of news print, that activity is 17012.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
17012 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for manufacture of news print: a sub-class of class 1701, manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard, within division 17, manufacture of paper and paper products. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 17Group 170Class 1701Sub-class 17012
Manufacture of news print
Sub-class 17012 · Class 1701 · Group 170 · Division 17 · 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.
170125 digits: 17 + 0 + 1 + 2NIC 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 17012. 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 17 covers manufacture of paper and paper products. It sits in section C, manufacturing.
Manufacture of paper and paper products.
Manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of news print. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
17012 is a sub-class of class 1701, manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - manufacture of corrugated paper and paperboard, see 1702
- - manufacture of further-processed articles of paper, paperboard or pulp, see 1709
- - manufacture of coated or impregnated paper, where the coating or impregnant is the main ingredient, see class in which the manufacture of the coating or impregnant is classified
- - manufacture of abrasive paper, see 2399
- - manufacture of cork life preservers, see 3290
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 17012 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of news print, that activity is 17012.
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
17012 is for manufacture of news print. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 1701. Each has its own page with the official wording.
17013Class 1701 · another sub-class of the same class17014Class 1701 · another sub-class of the same class17015Class 1701 · another sub-class of the same class17016Class 1701 · another sub-class of the same class17019Class 1701 · another sub-class of the same classClass 1701 has 8 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 17012. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of news print, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 1701, manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard.
Class 1701, manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard, has 8 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 17012, those with a page here are: 17013 (Manufacture of paper and paper rolls not further processed); 17014 (Manufacture of packing paper); 17015 (Manufacture of other special purpose paper (excluding computer stationary)); 17016 (Manufacture of paper board, straw board); 17019 (Manufacture of other primary paper materials including composite paper and paper board n.e.c.).
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 1701, 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.