The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For wholesale of paints, varnishes, and lacquers, that activity is 46634.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
46634 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for wholesale of paints, varnishes, and lacquers: a sub-class of class 4663, wholesale of construction materials, hardware, plumbing and heating equipment and supplies, 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 466Class 4663Sub-class 46634
Wholesale of paints, varnishes, and lacquers
Sub-class 46634 · Class 4663 · Group 466 · 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.
466345 digits: 46 + 6 + 3 + 4NIC 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 46634. 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.
Other specialized wholesale.
Wholesale of construction materials, hardware, plumbing and heating equipment and supplies.
Wholesale of paints, varnishes, and lacquers. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 46634 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For wholesale of paints, varnishes, and lacquers, that activity is 46634.
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
46634 is for wholesale of paints, varnishes, and lacquers. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 4663. Each has its own page with the official wording.
46639Class 4663 · another sub-class of the same class46631Class 4663 · another sub-class of the same class46632Class 4663 · another sub-class of the same class46633Class 4663 · another sub-class of the same classClass 4663 has 5 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 46634.
Questions
Wholesale of paints, varnishes, and lacquers, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 4663, wholesale of construction materials, hardware, plumbing and heating equipment and supplies.
Class 4663, wholesale of construction materials, hardware, plumbing and heating equipment and supplies, has 5 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 46634, they are: 46639 (Wholesale of other construction equipment n.e.c.); 46631 (Wholesale of wood in the rough and products of primary processing of wood); 46632 (Wholesale of construction materials (sand, gravel etc.)); 46633 (Wholesale of hardware and sanitary fittings and fixtures and flat glass including tools such as hammers, saws, screwdrivers and other hand tools).
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 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.