The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For motorised road freight transport, that activity is 49231.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
49231 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for motorised road freight transport: a sub-class of class 4923, freight transport by road, within division 49, land transport and transport via pipelines. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 49Group 492Class 4923Sub-class 49231
Motorised road freight transport
Sub-class 49231 · Class 4923 · Group 492 · Division 49 · Section H, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
492315 digits: 49 + 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 49231. 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 49 covers land transport and transport via pipelines. It sits in section H, transport and storage.
Other land transport.
Freight transport by road. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Motorised road freight transport. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
49231 is a sub-class of class 4923, freight transport by road. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - log hauling within the forest, as part of logging operations, see 0240
- - distribution of water by trucks, see 3600
- - operation of terminal facilities for handling freight, see 5221
- - crating and packing services for transport, see 5229
- - post and courier activities, see 5310, 5320
- - waste transport as integrated part of waste collection activities, see 3811, 3812
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 49231 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For motorised road freight transport, that activity is 49231.
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
49231 is for motorised road freight transport. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 4923. Each has its own page with the official wording.
Class 4923 has 2 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 49231.
Questions
Motorised road freight transport, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 4923, freight transport by road.
Class 4923, freight transport by road, has 2 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 49231, they are: 49232 (Non-motorised road freight transport).
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 4923, 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.