AbstractThe residual symmetry of the (2+1)-dimensional Benney system is derived from the truncated Painlevé expansion. Such residual symmetry is localised and the original Benney equation is extended into an enlarged system by introducing four new variables. By using Lies first theorem, we obtain the finite transformation for the localised residual symmetry. More importantly, we further localise the linear superposition of multiple residual symmetries and construct the nth Bäcklund transformation for the Benney system in the form of the determinant. Moreover, it is proved that the (2+1)-dimensional Benney system is consistent tanh expansion (CTE) solvable. The exact interaction solutions between solitons and any other types of potential Burgers waves are also obtained, which include soliton-error function waves, soliton-periodic waves, and so on.