The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of soap all forms, that activity is 20231.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
20231 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for manufacture of soap all forms: 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 20231
Manufacture of soap all forms
Sub-class 20231 · 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.
202315 digits: 20 + 2 + 3 + 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 20231. 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 soap all forms. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
20231 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 20231 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of soap all forms, that activity is 20231.
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
20231 is for manufacture of soap all forms. 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.
20232Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20233Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20234Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20235Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same class20236Class 2023 · another sub-class of the same classClass 2023 has 9 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 20231. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of soap all forms, 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 20231, those with a page here are: 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); 20234 (Manufacture of perfumes and eau de cologne); 20235 (Manufacture of preparations for oral or dental hygiene (includes manufacture of toothpastes, toothpowder, mouthwash, oral, perfumes, dental fixative pastes and powders etc.)); 20236 (Manufacture of hair oil, shampoo, hair dye etc. (includes manufacture of shampoos, hair sprays, hair fixers, hair oils, hair creams, hair dyes and bleaches and preparations for permanent waving or straightening of the hair etc.)).
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.