The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For operation of fish hatcheries (fresh-water), that activity is 03223.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
03223 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for operation of fish hatcheries (fresh-water): a sub-class of class 0322, freshwater aquaculture, within division 03, fishing and aquaculture. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 03Group 032Class 0322Sub-class 03223
Operation of fish hatcheries (fresh-water)
Sub-class 03223 · Class 0322 · Group 032 · Division 03 · Section A, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
032235 digits: 03 + 2 + 2 + 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 03223. 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 03 covers fishing and aquaculture. It sits in section A, agriculture, forestry and fishing.
Aquaculture.
Freshwater aquaculture. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Operation of fish hatcheries (fresh-water). The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
03223 is a sub-class of class 0322, freshwater aquaculture. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - aquaculture activities in salt water filled tanks and reservoirs, see 0321
- - operation of sport fishing preserves, see 9319
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 03223 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For operation of fish hatcheries (fresh-water), that activity is 03223.
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
03223 is for operation of fish hatcheries (fresh-water). The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 0322. Each has its own page with the official wording.
03229Class 0322 · another sub-class of the same class03221Class 0322 · another sub-class of the same class03222Class 0322 · another sub-class of the same classClass 0322 has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 03223.
Questions
Operation of fish hatcheries (fresh-water), in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 0322, freshwater aquaculture.
Class 0322, freshwater aquaculture, has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 03223, they are: 03229 (Other freshwater aquaculture ctivities, n.e.c.); 03221 (Fish farming in freshwater including farming of freshwater ornamental fish); 03222 (Culture of freshwater crustaceans, bivalves, other mollusks and other aquatic animals).
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 0322, 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.