The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For wholesale of intoxicants like wines and liquors, that activity is 46308.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
46308 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for wholesale of intoxicants like wines and liquors: a sub-class of class 4630, wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco, within division 46, wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 46Group 463Class 4630Sub-class 46308
Wholesale of intoxicants like wines and liquors
Sub-class 46308 · Class 4630 · Group 463 · Division 46 · Section G, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
463085 digits: 46 + 3 + 0 + 8NIC 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 46308. 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 46 covers wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles. It sits in section G, wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco.
Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Wholesale of intoxicants like wines and liquors. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
46308 is a sub-class of class 4630, wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class includes wholesale of fruits and vegetables, dairy products, eggs & edible oils & fats, meat, fishery products, sugar confectionery & bakery products, beverages, coffee, tea, cocoa and spices, manufactured tobacco & tobacco products etc.
This class excludes:
- - blending of wine or distilled spirits, see 1101, 1102
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 46308 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For wholesale of intoxicants like wines and liquors, that activity is 46308.
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
46308 is for wholesale of intoxicants like wines and liquors. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 4630. Each has its own page with the official wording.
46309Class 4630 · another sub-class of the same class46301Class 4630 · another sub-class of the same class46302Class 4630 · another sub-class of the same class46303Class 4630 · another sub-class of the same class46304Class 4630 · another sub-class of the same classClass 4630 has 9 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 46308. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Wholesale of intoxicants like wines and liquors, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 4630, wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco.
Class 4630, wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco, has 9 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 46308, those with a page here are: 46309 (Wholesale of other basic/manufactured food stuffs n.e.c.); 46301 (Wholesale of fruits & vegetables); 46302 (Wholesale of raw milk & dairy products); 46303 (Wholesale of meat, fish & eggs); 46304 (Wholesale of confectionery, bakery products and beverages other than intoxicants).
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 4630, 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.