Generally there is nothing inherent about the lower floor covering s material that precludes it from acting as a substrate for the upper vinyl flooring.
Flooring you can place on your old flooring.
However it s best to consult with your installation company about what options are available to you and what s best for you and your new carpet.
Installing a laminate floor over hardwood is a great option in many cases.
If you currently have wood or vinyl flooring you may be able to lay the carpet over your existing flooring instead of tearing it out.
But you can do the same to prepare your floor so the new vinyl flooring will have a perfectly even surface to adhere to.
In most cases you can install vinyl flooring on top of existing flooring.
A thin layer of joint compound suitable for indoor use spread over the old vinyl floor will patch up any gaps or dents and the holes left by removing the broken bits of the old vinyl floor.
For one thing if you ever want to revert back to the original hardwood you can simply pull out the laminate and the old floor has suffered no damage.
A good flooring to install over an existing floor is rigid vinyl core.