Permit is a form of juridical instrument used by the Government in carrying out activities to regulate and carry out government affairs. As a juridical as well as a policy instrument, permits are made in the form of a constitutive stipulation to determine the Government's policy stance on a concrete event. This dissertation research was prepared with the aim of analyzing the licensing arrangements for business activities in Indonesia and their implementation, especially those related to the application of general principles of good governance (AUPB) in refusing to grant permits. The direction is to formulate the regulatory basis for proper and fair licensing decisions. The legal theory used includes Authority Theory, Discretion Theory and Legal Certainty Theory. The research guide uses normative legal studies with the support of empirical research, especially through a case approach. The results of the study conclude that in Indonesia, licensing arrangements are regulated by the Rules Based Regulation (RBR) approach. This means that norms are regulated in a clear and detailed manner to provide legal certainty even though they do not provide discretion for agencies to take actions outside the scope of the licensing arrangement. Licensing requirements also do not provide authority and judgment to refuse a permit application if all administrative requirements have been met. UU no. 30 of 2014 concerning Government Administration stipulates that if within the required period the permit application is not granted, then the permit is considered approved. This provision eliminates the authority of the authorities to be able to act differently according to their considerations. The Government Administration Law contains provisions regarding AUPB which must be a reference for every decision and/or action, including in the administration of licensing. Normatively, there are 2 (two) reasons for refusing a permit application by the Ministry and/or State Institution, namely: (1) Non-fulfillment of administrative requirements as regulated in the relevant licensing regulations; (2) The permit application has met the administrative requirements, but there are special policies related to the national interest. In practice, not all permit refusal decisions are accepted by permit applicants so that they require a settlement at the State Administrative Court to test whether the permit refusal decision has been carried out in a governmental manner, taking into account the AUPB. Keywords: General Principles of Good Governance (AUPB), refusal of permits, Rules Based Regulation (RBR).