The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of wooden railway sleepers, that activity is 16103.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
16103 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for manufacture of wooden railway sleepers: a sub-class of class 1610, saw milling and planing of wood, within division 16, manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 16Group 161Class 1610Sub-class 16103
Manufacture of wooden railway sleepers
Sub-class 16103 · Class 1610 · Group 161 · Division 16 · 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.
161035 digits: 16 + 1 + 0 + 3NIC 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 16103. 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 16 covers manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials. It sits in section C, manufacturing.
Saw milling and planing of wood.
Saw milling and planing of wood. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Manufacture of wooden railway sleepers. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
16103 is a sub-class of class 1610, saw milling and planing of wood. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - logging and production of wood in the rough, see 0220
- - manufacture of veneer sheets thin enough for use in plywood, boards and panels, see 1621
- - manufacture of shingles and shakes, beadings and mouldings, see 1622
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 16103 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For manufacture of wooden railway sleepers, that activity is 16103.
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
16103 is for manufacture of wooden railway sleepers. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 1610. Each has its own page with the official wording.
16109Class 1610 · another sub-class of the same class16101Class 1610 · another sub-class of the same classClass 1610 has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 16103. 2 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Manufacture of wooden railway sleepers, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 1610, saw milling and planing of wood.
Class 1610, saw milling and planing of wood, has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 16103, those with a page here are: 16109 (Activities related to saw milling and planing of wood n.e.c.); 16101 (Sawing and planing of wood).
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 1610, 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.