The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For sea and coastal freight water transport, that activity is 50120.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
50120 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for sea and coastal freight water transport: a sub-class of class 5012, sea and coastal freight water transport, within division 50, water transport. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 50Group 501Class 5012Sub-class 50120
Sea and coastal freight water transport
Sub-class 50120 · Class 5012 · Group 501 · Division 50 · 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.
501205 digits: 50 + 1 + 2 + 0NIC 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 50120. 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 50 covers water transport. It sits in section H, transport and storage.
Sea and coastal water transport.
Sea and coastal freight water transport. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Sea and coastal freight water transport. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
50120 is a sub-class of class 5012, sea and coastal freight water transport. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class includes transport of freight over seas and coastal waters, whether scheduled or not, transport by towing or pushing of barges, oil rigs etc.
This class excludes:
- - storage of freight, see 5210
- - harbour operation and other auxiliary activities such as docking, pilotage, lighterage, vessel salvage, see 5222
- - cargo handling, see 5224
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 50120 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For sea and coastal freight water transport, that activity is 50120.
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
50120 is for sea and coastal freight water transport. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: other classes in group 501. Each has its own page with the official wording.
These belong to other classes in group 501, sea and coastal water transport. 50120 itself is in class 5012. Use the search above for any other code on this page.
Questions
Sea and coastal freight water transport, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 5012, sea and coastal freight water 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 5012, 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.