Income Tax Business Code: Income Tax Nature of Business Code List for FY 2024-25

Updated on: Aug 7th, 2025

30 min read

Business codes, also known as Business or Profession Codes, are used in India for Income Tax Return (ITR) filing to classify the nature of business or profession. These codes are specified by the Income Tax Department and help in accurately reporting income from different sources. The codes vary depending on the type of business or profession. Taxpayers need to select the appropriate code that best represents their line of work when filing their ITR forms. The codes ensure proper categorisation and facilitate efficient tax assessment and compliance. It is crucial to select the correct business code to ensure accurate reporting of income and adherence to tax regulations.

The IT department has updated ITR utilities for AY 2025-26 (FY 2024-25) with new codes for business and profession. These updated codes are for taxpayers engaged in the following emerging income-generating activities:
09029 – Commission Agents
For those acting as intermediaries in markets that are treated as business income.
16021 – Social Media Influencers
Earnings from platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Treated as professional income.
21009 – Speculative Trading
Intraday equity trading occurs when buying and selling occur on the same day.
21010 – Futures & Options Trading
Trading in F&O on stocks, commodities, currencies, including intraday and overnight positions. Treated as non-speculative business income.
21011 – Buying & Selling of Shares
Delivery-based equity trading is frequently a business activity or primary income source. This is distinct from capital gains (from an investment perspective), which are taxed as business income.

What is Business and Professions code in ITR?

Below are the sector and sub-sector-wise business codes commonly used for ITR forms in India:

BUSINESS CODES FOR ITR FORMS FOR FY 2024-25

Sector	Sub-Sector	Code
AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY & FORESTRY	Growing and manufacturing of tea	1001
	Growing and manufacturing of coffee	1002
	Growing and manufacturing of rubber	1003
	Market gardening and horticulture specialities	1004
	Raising of silkworms and production of silk	1005
	Raising of bees and production of honey	1006
	Raising of poultry and production of eggs	1007
	Rearing of sheep and production of wool	1008
	Rearing of animals and production of animal products	1009
	Agricultural and animal husbandry services	1010
	Soil conservation, soil testing and soil desalination services	1011
	Hunting, trapping and game propagation services	1012
	Growing of timber, plantation, operation of tree nurseries and conserving of forest	1013
	Gathering of tendu leaves	1014
	Gathering of other wild growing materials	1015
	Forestry service activities, timber cruising,afforestation and reforestation	1016
	Logging service activities, transport of logs afforestation and reforestation within the forest	1017
	Other agriculture, animal husbandry or forestry activity n.e.c	1018
FISH FARMING	Fishing on a commercial basis in inland waters	2001
	Fishing on a commercial basis in the ocean and coastal areas	2002
	Fish farming	2003
	Gathering of marine materials such as natural pearls, sponges, coral etc.	2004
	Services related to marine and freshwater fisheries, fish hatcheries and fish farms	2005
	Other Fish farming activity n.e.c	2006
MINING AND QUARRYING	Mining and agglomeration of hard coal	3001
	Mining and agglomeration of lignite	3002
	Extraction and agglomeration of peat	3003
	Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas	3004
	Service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction excluding surveying	3005
	Mining of uranium and thorium ores	3006
	Mining of iron ores	3007
	Mining of non-ferrous metal ores, except uranium and thorium ores	3008
	Mining of gemstones	3009
	Mining of chemical and fertilizer minerals	3010
	Mining of quarrying of abrasive materials	3011
	Mining of mica, graphite and asbestos	3012
	Quarrying of stones (marble/granite/dolomite), sand and clay	3013
	Other mining and quarrying	3014
	Mining and production of salt	3015
	Other mining and quarrying n.e.c	3016
MANUFACTURING	Production, processing and preservation of meat and meat products	4001
	Production, processing and preservation of fish and fish products	4002
	Manufacture of vegetable oil, animal oil and fats	4003
	Processing of fruits, vegetables and edible nuts	4004
	Manufacture of dairy products	4005
	Manufacture of sugar	4006
	Manufacture of cocoa, chocolates and sugar confectionery	4007
	Flour milling	4008
	Rice milling	4009
	Dal milling	4010
	Manufacture of other grain mill products	4011
	Manufacture of bakery products	4012
	Manufacture of starch products	4013
	Manufacture of animal feeds	4014
	Manufacture of other food products	4015
	Manufacturing of wines	4016
	Manufacture of beer	4017
	Manufacture of malt liquors	4018
	Distilling and blending of spirits, production of ethyl alcohol	4019
	Manufacture of mineral water	4020
	Manufacture of soft drinks	4021
	Manufacture of other non-alcoholic beverages	4022
	Manufacture of tobacco products	4023
	Manufacture of textiles (other than by handloom)	4024
	Manufacture of textiles using handlooms (khadi)	4025
	Manufacture of carpet, rugs, blankets, shawls etc. (other than by hand)	4026
	Manufacture of carpet, rugs, blankets, shawls etc. by hand	4027
	Manufacture of wearing apparel	4028
	Tanning and dressing of leather	4029
	Manufacture of luggage, handbags and the like saddler and harness	4030
	Manufacture of footwear	4031
	Manufacture of wood and wood products, cork, straw and plaiting material	4032
	Manufacture of paper and paper products	4033
	Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media	4034
	Manufacture of coke oven products	4035
	Manufacture of refined petroleum products	4036
	Processing of nuclear fuel	4037
	Manufacture of fertilizers and nitrogen compounds	4038
	Manufacture of plastics in primary forms and of synthetic rubber	4039
	Manufacture of paints, varnishes and similar coatings	4040
	Manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals and botanical products	4041
	Manufacture of soap and detergents	4042
	Manufacture of other chemical products	4043
	Manufacture of man-made fibers	4044
	Manufacture of rubber products	4045
	Manufacture of plastic products	4046
	Manufacture of glass and glass products	4047
	Manufacture of cement, lime and plaster	4048
	Manufacture of articles of concrete, cement and plaster	4049
	Manufacture of Bricks	4050
	Manufacture of other clay and ceramic products	4051
	Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products	4052
	Manufacture of pig iron, sponge iron, Direct Reduced Iron etc.	4053
	Manufacture of Ferro alloys	4054
	Manufacture of Ingots, billets, blooms and slabs etc.	4055
	Manufacture of steel products	4056
	Manufacture of basic precious and nonferrous metals	4057
	Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products	4058
	Casting of metals	4059
	Manufacture of fabricated metal products	4060
	Manufacture of engines and turbines	4061
	Manufacture of pumps and compressors	4062
	Manufacture of bearings and gears	4063
	Manufacture of ovens and furnaces	4064
Manufacture of lifting and handling equipment	4065
Manufacture of other generalpurpose machinery	4066
Manufacture of agricultural and forestry machinery	4067
Manufacture of Machine Tools	4068
Manufacture of machinery for metallurgy	4069
Manufacture of machinery for mining,quarrying and constructions	4070
Manufacture of machinery for processing of food and beverages	4071
Manufacture of machinery for leather and textile	4072
Manufacture of weapons and ammunition	4073
Manufacture of other special purpose machinery	4074
Manufacture of domestic appliances	4075
Manufacture of office, accounting and computing machinery	4076
Manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus	4077
Manufacture of Radio, Television,communication equipment and apparatus	4078
Manufacture of medical and surgical equipment	4079
Manufacture of industrial process control equipment	4080
Manufacture of instruments and appliances for measurements and navigation	4081
Manufacture of optical instruments	4082
Manufacture of watches and clocks	4083
Manufacture of motor vehicles	4084
Manufacture of body of motor vehicles	4085
Manufacture of parts & accessories of motor vehicles & engines	4086
Building & repair of ships and boats	4087
Manufacture of railway locomotive and rolling stocks	4088
Manufacture of aircraft and spacecraft	4089
Manufacture of bicycles	4090
Manufacture of other transport equipment	4091
Manufacture of furniture	4092
Manufacture of jewellery	4093
Manufacture of sports goods	4094
Manufacture of musical instruments	4095
Manufacture of games and toys	4096
Other manufacturing n.e.c.	4097
Recycling of metal waste and scrap	4098
Recycling of non- metal waste and scrap	4099
ELECTRITY, GAS AND WATER	Production, collection and distribution of electricity	5001
	Manufacture and distribution of gas	5002
	Collection, purification and distribution of water	5003
	Other essential commodity service n.e.c	5004
CONSTRUCTION	Site preparation works	6001
	Building of complete constructions or parts-	6002
	civil contractors
	Building installation	6003
	Building completion	6004
	Construction and maintenance of roads, rails,bridges, tunnels, ports, harbour, runways etc.	6005
	Construction and maintenance of power plants	6006
	Construction and maintenance of industrial plants	6007
	Construction and maintenance of power transmission and telecommunication lines	6008
	Construction of water ways and water reservoirs	6009
	Other construction activity n.e.c.	6010
REAL ESTATE AND RENTING SERVICES	Purchase, sale and letting of leased buildings (residential and non-residential)	7001
	Operating of real estate of self-owned buildings (residential and non-residential)	7002
	Developing and sub-dividing real estate into lots	7003
	Real estate activities on a fee or contract basis	7004
	Other real estate/renting services n.e.c	7005
RENTING OF MACHINERY	Renting of land transport equipment	8001
	Renting of water transport equipment	8002
	Renting of air transport equipment	8003
	Renting of agricultural machinery and equipment	8004
	Renting of construction and civil engineering machinery	8005
	Renting of office machinery and equipment	8006
	Renting of other machinery and equipment n.e.c.	8007
	Renting of personal and household goods n.e.c.	8008
	Renting of other machinery n.e.c.	8009
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE	Wholesale and retail sale of motor vehicles	9001
	Repair and maintenance of motor vehicles	9002
	Sale of motor parts and accessories- wholesale and retail	9003
	Retail sale of automotive fuel	9004
	General commission agents, commodity brokers and auctioneers	9005
	Wholesale of agricultural raw material	9006
	Wholesale of food & beverages and tobacco	9007
	Wholesale of household goods	9008
	Wholesale of metals and metal ores	9009
	Wholesale of household goods	9010
	Wholesale of construction material	9011
	Wholesale of hardware and sanitary fittings	9012
	Wholesale of cotton and jute	9013
	Wholesale of raw wool and raw silk	9014
	Wholesale of other textile fibres	9015
	Wholesale of industrial chemicals	9016
	Wholesale of fertilizers and pesticides	9017
	Wholesale of electronic parts & equipment	9018
	Wholesale of other machinery, equipment and supplies	9019
	Wholesale of waste, scrap & materials for recycling	9020
	Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores	9021
	Retail sale of other goods in specialized stores	9022
	Retail sale in non-specialized stores	9023
	Retail sale of textiles, apparel, footwear, leather goods	9024
	Retail sale of other household appliances	9025
	Retail sale of hardware, paint and glass	9026
	Wholesale of other products n.e.c	9027
	Retail sale of other products n.e.c	9028
	Commission Agents (For intermediaries facilitating transactions in goods/services.)	09029
HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND HOSPITALITY SERVICES	Hotels – Star rated	10001
	Hotels – Non-star rated	10002
	Motels, Inns and Dharmshalas	10003
	Guest houses and circuit houses	10004
	"Dormitories and hostels at educational institutions"	10005
	Short stay accommodations n.e.c.	10006
	Restaurants – with bars	10007
	Restaurants – without bars	10008
	Canteens	10009
	Independent caterers	10010
	Casinos and other games of chance	10011
	Other hospitality services n.e.c.	10012
TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS SERVICES	Travel agencies and tour operators	11001
	Packers and movers	11002
	Passenger land transport	11003
	Air transport	11004
	Transport by urban/sub-urban railways	11005
	Inland water transport	11006
	Sea and coastal water transport	11007
	Freight transport by road	11008
	Freight transport by railways	11009
	Forwarding of freight	11010
	Receiving and acceptance of freight	11011
	Cargo handling	11012
	Storage and warehousing	11013
	"Transport via pipelines (transport of gases,liquids, slurry and other commodities)"	11014
	Other Transport & Logistics services n.e.c	11015
POST AND TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES	Post and courier activities	12001
	Basic telecom services	12002
	Value added telecom services	12003
	Maintenance of telecom network	12004
	Activities of the cable operators	12005
	Other Post & Telecommunication services n.e.c	12006
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION SERVICES	Commercial banks, saving banks and discount houses	13001
	Specialised institutions granting credit	13002
	Financial leasing	13003
	Hire-purchase financing	13004
	Housing finance activities	13005
	Commercial loan activities	13006
	Credit cards	13007
	Mutual funds	13008
	Chit fund	13009
	Investment activities	13010
	Life insurance	13011
	Pension funding	13012
	Non-life insurance	13013
	Administration of financial markets	13014
	Stock brokers, sub-brokers and related activities	13015
	Financial advisers, mortgage advisers and brokers	13016
	Foreign exchange services	13017
	Other financial intermediation services n.e.c.	13018
COMPUTER AND RELATED SERVICES	Software development	14001
	Other software consultancy	14002
	Data processing	14003
	Database activities and distribution of electronic content	14004
	Other IT enabled services	14005
	BPO services	14006
	Cyber café	14007
	Maintenance and repair of office, accounting and computing machinery	14008
	Computer training and educational institutes	14009
	Other computation related services n.e.c.	14010
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT	Natural sciences and engineering	15001
	Social sciences and humanities	15002
	Other Research & Development activities n.e.c.	15003
PROFESSIONS	Legal profession	16001
	Accounting, book-keeping and auditing profession	16002
	Tax consultancy	16003
	Architectural profession	16004
	Engineering and technical consultancy	16005
	Advertising	16006
	Fashion designing	16007
	Interior decoration	16008
	Photography	16009
	Auctioneers	16010
	Business brokerage	16011
	Market research and public opinion polling	16012
	Business and management consultancy activities	16013
	Labour recruitment and provision of personnel	16014
	Investigation and security services	16015
	Building-cleaning and industrial cleaning activities	16016
	Packaging activities	16017
	Secretarial activities	16018
	Medical Profession	16019
	Film Artist	16020
	Social Media Influencers (For YouTubers, Instagrammers, TikTokers, etc.)	16021
	Other professional services n.e.c.	16019
EDUCATION SERVICES	Primary education	17001
	Secondary/ senior secondary education	17002
	Technical and vocational secondary/ senior secondary education	17003
	Higher education	17004
	Education by correspondence	17005
	Coaching centers and tuitions	17006
	Other education services n.e.c.	17007
HEALTH CARE SERVICES	General hospitals	18001
	Speciality and super speciality hospitals	18002
	Nursing homes	18003
	Diagnostic centers	18004
	Pathological laboratories	18005
	Independent blood banks	18006
	Medical transcription	18007
	Independent ambulance services	18008
	Medical suppliers, agencies and stores	18009
	Medical clinics	18010
	Dental practice	18011
	Ayurveda practice	18012
	Unani practice	18013
	Homeopathy practice	18014
	Nurses, physiotherapists or other paramedical practitioners	18015
	Veterinary hospitals and practice	18016
	Medical education	18017
	Medical research	18018
	Practice of other alternative medicine	18019
	Other healthcare services	18020
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY WORK	Social work activities with accommodation (orphanages and old age homes)	19001
	Social work activities without accommodation (Creches)	19002
	Industry associations, chambers of commerce	19003
	Professional organizations	19004
	Trade unions	19005
	Religious organizations	19006
	Political organizations	19007
	Other membership organizations n.e.c. (rotary clubs, book clubs and philatelic clubs)	19008
	Other Social or community service n.e.c	19009
CULTURE AND SPORT	Motion picture production	20001
	Film distribution	20002
	Film laboratories	20003
	Television channel productions	20004
	Television channels broadcast	20005
	Video production and distribution	20006
	Sound recording studios	20007
	Radio - recording and distribution	20008
	Stage production and related activities	20009
	Individual artists excluding authors	20010
	Literary activities	20011
	Other cultural activities n.e.c.	20012
	Circuses and race tracks	20013
	Video Parlours	20014
	News agency activities	20015
	Library and archives activities	20016
	Museum activities	20017
	Preservation of historical sites and buildings	20018
	Botanical and zoological gardens	20019
	Operation and maintenance of sports facilities	20020
	Activities of sports and game schools	20021
	Organization and operation of indoor/outdoor sports and promotion and production of sporting events	20022
	Other sporting activities n.e.c.	20023
	Other recreational activities n.e.c.	20024
OTHER SERVICES	Hair dressing and other beauty treatment	21001
	Funeral and related activities	21002
	Marriage bureaus	21003
	Pet care services	21004
	Sauna and steam baths, massage salons etc.	21005
	Astrological and spiritualists’ activities	21006
	Private households as employers of domestic staff	21007
	Other services n.e.c.	21008
	Speculative Trading (For intraday equity traders)	21009
	F&O Trading(For Futures & Options traders in stocks, commodities, currencie)	21010
	Buying & Selling of Shares Frequent delivery-based trading	21011
EXTRA TERRITORIAL ORGANISATIONS AND BODIES	Extra territorial organizations and bodies (IMF, World Bank, European Commission etc.)	22001
CO- OPERATIVE SOCIETY ACTIVITES	Banking/Credit Facilities to its members	23001
	Cottage Industry	23002
	Marketing of Agricultural produce grown by its members	23003
	Purchase of Agricultural Implements, seeds, livestock or other articles intended for agriculture for the purpose of supplying to itsmembers.	23004
	Processing, without the aid of power, of the agricultural Produce of its members.	23005
	Collective disposal of Labour of its members	23006
	Fishing or allied activities for the purpose of supplying to its members.	23007
	Primary cooperative society engaged in supplying Milk, oilseeds, fruits or vegetables raised or grown by its members to Federal cooperative society engaged in supplying Milk, oilseeds, fruits or vegetables/Government or local authority/Government Company / corporation established by or under a Central, State or Provincial Act	23008
	Consumer Cooperative Society Other than specified in 80P(2a) or 80P(2b)	23009
	Other Cooperative Society engaged in activities Other than specified in 80P(2a) or 80P(2b)	23010
	Interest/Dividend from Investment in other co-operative society	23011
	Income from Letting of godowns / warehouses for storage, processing / facilitating the marketing of commodities	23012
	Others	23013
	Federal milk co-operative society	23014

*n.e.c. – not elsewhere classified

Income Tax Nature of Business Code List 2023-24 PDF Download.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is business code 21008 in ITR?

Business code 21008 is for ‘Other Services n.e.c’.

What is business code for freelancer in ITR 3?

You can select 'Code 16019' for section 44AD.

Why is a business code used?

Business code represents the nature of business or profession under the particular code. They also help in reporting accurate income from different sources.

How to know my business code?

You can select the nature of the services or business you are involved. Business code is to be mentioned only under ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5 and ITR-6.

About the Author

Ektha Surana

Content Marketer

Multitasking between pouring myself coffees and poring over the ever-changing tax laws. Here, I've authored 100+ blogs on income tax and simplified complex income tax topics like the intimidating crypto tax rules, old vs new tax regime debate, changes in debt funds taxation, budget analysis and more. Some combinations I like- tax and content, finance & startups, technology & psychology, fitness & neuroscience. Read more

Browse by topics

Income Tax e-Filing

Income Tax Calculator

Income Tax Slabs FY 2024-25

Old vs New Tax Regime

How To File ITR

New Tax Regime

Which ITR Should I File

Last Date To File ITR For 2024-25

Income Tax Sections & Deductions

Income Tax Refund

Capital Gains Income