Income Tax Business Code List

A BP code is a 5-digit number issued by the Income Tax Department to classify business or profession activities. It must be filled in the "Nature of business" and "Code" fields in ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5, and ITR-6 when you have business or professional income.

In the ITR utility (Excel/Java), open the "Nature of Business" table under "Business or Profession Information". Add rows with both the trade description (e.g., "Legal services") and the matching 5-digit BP code from this list.

No. HSN/SAC codes classify goods and services for GST. BP codes are different — they classify the nature of your business or profession for Income-tax returns. Many businesses need both: HSN/SAC on GST invoices and BP codes in the ITR.

No. If your only income is salary under Section 192, you file ITR-1 (SAHAJ) or ITR-2 and do not need a BP code. Use BP codes only when you have business income (ITR-3 / ITR-4) or professional income (ITR-4 / ITR-5).

Pick the closest available code. The Income-tax Department expects you to choose the nearest match from the official list — there is no facility to add a custom code. If you have multiple distinct activities, add one row per activity in the ITR "Nature of Business" table.

No. BP codes are for Income-tax classification only and do not carry a tax rate. For GST classification of goods, use HSN codes; for services, use SAC codes. Use the relevant Search Code page for each.

The Income Tax Department updates the BP code list occasionally through notifications and changes to the ITR utility. We refresh this directory whenever a new list is published so that what you see matches the latest ITR schema.