The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For water collection, treatment and supply, that activity is 36000.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
36000 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for water collection, treatment and supply: a sub-class of class 3600, water collection, treatment and supply, within division 36, water collection, treatment and supply. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 36Group 360Class 3600Sub-class 36000
Water collection, treatment and supply
Sub-class 36000 · Class 3600 · Group 360 · Division 36 · Section E, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
360005 digits: 36 + 0 + 0 + 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 36000. 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 36 covers water collection, treatment and supply. It sits in section E, water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities.
Water collection, treatment and supply.
Water collection, treatment and supply. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Water collection, treatment and supply. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
36000 is a sub-class of class 3600, water collection, treatment and supply. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class includes water collection, treatment and distribution activities for domestic and industrial needs. Collection of water from various sources, as well as distribution by various means is included. The operation of irrigation canals is also included; however the provision of irrigation services through sprinklers, and similar agricultural support services, is not included.
This class excludes:
- - operation of irrigation equipment for agricultural purposes, see 0161
- - treatment of waste water in order to prevent pollution, see 3700
- - (long-distance) transport of water via pipelines, see 4930
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 36000 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For water collection, treatment and supply, that activity is 36000.
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.
Questions
Water collection, treatment and supply, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 3600, water collection, treatment and supply.
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 3600, 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.