Mobile phone talktime and internet will become costlier as the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is planning to increase supplementary duty (SD) on cellphone use to 23 percent from the existing 20 percent.

After the hike, mobile phone users will face over 42.45 percent in SD, value-added tax and surcharge, up from 39 percent at present.

"We have taken the initiative to increase supplementary duty on mobile phone usage in order to increase revenue collection," said an official of the NBR seeking anonymity.

The initiative is part of the NBR's bid to raise VAT and SDs on 43 goods and services, including restaurants, air travels, sweets, hotels and clothing. A 15 percent VAT is expected to be slapped on the items, which are currently paying between 5 to 7.5 percent.

The tax administrator is expected to issue a notification regarding the hikes in VAT and SD this week, according to the official.